Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a budget to veto a 3 percent tuition increase for state colleges and universities in the state of Florida. The tuition increase had been passed by the Florida legislature, but was stopped by the governor before it could take effect.
Scott’s Florida Families First budget plan places a high priority on higher education in the state, as well as education at the lower levels, adding approximately $1 billion in K–12 education compared with last year’s budget.
According to the announcement on his website, Scott said his tuition veto and his Florida Families First budget would help families “pursue their dreams by getting a great job and accessing a quality education.” He says the budget will make higher education more affordable for Florida students.
In addition to the freeze on the price of tuition, Scott’s budget prioritized higher education with several other measures. Most significant is the budget’s restoration of $300 million in recurring funding for the state university system. It will also provide $20 million in new funds for state college operating costs and will add $3.3 million more in needs-based financial aid.
Part of what made the tuition veto possible was the reduction in spending in the state budget. Scott used his veto power to stop projects that he believed were not cost-effective. For example, he stopped a coast-to-coast bike trail that would have cost the state $50 million. Overall, he reduced spending in Florida’s 2013–2014 budget from $74.5 billion to $74.1 billion — a total reduction of $368 million. This allowed him to stop the college tuition in Florida from going up.
The governor’s budget had plenty of support from education leaders in Florida. In the same announcement, Chancellor Frank T. Brogan of the State University System of Florida, said “This budget recognizes that the university system provides a real and lasting return on investment for the people of Florida.” Brogan added that Florida’s public universities were among the “most affordable” in the United States. Rod Duckworth, the Chancellor of Career and Adult Education, says the new budget will do a good job of preparing young people for the workforce.
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