Florida Board of Governors Sue

for Control of State School Tuition Costs

Angela Januzzi

July 13, 2007

This past spring, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed legislation for a 5% tuition increase for the state’s public universities and colleges. Due to the resulting stagnant tuition rates, the Board of Governors ironically began to retaliate against the Legislature’s jurisdiction over state tuition decisions. Inevitably, the fate of state school enrollment in Florida will hang by the eventual outcome of the final ruling.

Tuesday the former governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham, a group of professors, and the Board of Governors announced their lawsuit, claiming that the 2002 constitutional amendment establishing a statewide Board of Governors had also officially shifted tuition authority from the State Legislature to that board. While the lawsuit heads to court, the board is determined to hike tuition at state universities this coming spring semester by up to 5 percent, with or without the state Legislature’s permission.Senator Ken Pruitt said of the matter: “I don’t think voters were trying to turn the Board of Governors into the fourth branch of government,” but added that, “This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to get unbridled tuition increases.” Another complicating factor is Florida’s statewide scholarship program, Bright Futures: the cost of the program is directly tied to tuition costs; the lower state tuition, the more manageable the program.

Sherman Dorn, associate professor of education at the University of South Florida and vice president of the state’s faculty union, said, “The next 12 to 18 months are going to be very interesting in Florida higher education.” He also added that he believed the issue will most likely not be resolved until it is ultimately decided by the state’s Supreme Court.

Source: Redden, Elizabeth. “Battle Lines in Florida.” www.insidehighered.com. Posted: July 13, 2007.