Before the 2012 legislative session, leaders of the House and Senate, as well as the Governor, warned that higher education faced severe budget cuts this year. They also called for a transformation of the structure and curriculum of public universities and colleges to reduce expenses even more in the future. At the end of the session, legislators approved the budget cuts but postponed the structural transformation process until 2013.
Faculty can now survey the economic damage inflicted by the leadership of the House and Senate. In the End of Session Legislative Report on Higher Ed prepared by Pat Dix, the Florida Education Association (FEA) government relations specialist for higher education, we have the details of what legislators actually did in each category of funding. (Appendix B-1 is the Florida College System. Appendix B-2 is the State University System.)
by Tom Auxter, UFF President
