The chairmen of the boards of trustees of Florida's 11 public universities continued their trend of holding secret meetings when they met privately with Gov. Jeb Bush Friday.
At the private meeting, the chairmen, all appointed by Bush, discussed the state's budget, which significantly cuts funding for Florida's higher education system. Sadly, neither the public nor the press knows exactly what the chairmen talked about with the governor because neither the public nor the press could attend the meeting, possibly in violation of Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine Law.
Gov. Bush anticipated criticism of the meeting procedure when he spoke about the meeting afterward. "I'm sure we'll be criticized again tomorrow about it," Bush said. And they deserve criticism.
By neither announcing the meeting nor granting access to it, the chairmen and the governor kept the public in the dark about budget cuts that could and most likely will impact the quality of education for college students throughout the state.
The budget cuts will also slow growth, which may not be so bad at UCF. State universities will not be able to grow, especially at the pace they want, unless they have sufficient funding from the state.
The chairman of the UCF Board of Trustees, Dick Nunis, attended the meeting. Afterward, he said UCF and other universities would have to account for every dollar they spend, in light of their reduced budgets.
The budget cuts, more than $80 million, reflect the poor state of Florida's economy. Legislators seem to view public universities as less important to the state's well-being than programs such as K-12 education and health care. Perhaps they're right to sacrifice university funding for the sake of more vital programs, but they must give funding back to the universities when the economy rebounds.
However, in the meantime, while the economy crawls along, state universities will have to find new sources of revenue, because the quality of education will suffer with reduced funding. Unless the economy improves significantly, more cuts likely will follow in ensuing years. Universities should not put the brunt of the financial burden on students.
As Nunis said, universities will have to become more accountable for their spending. They should trim excessive spending on unnecessary projects and practice more fiscal conservatism. They also must do more to solicit gifts from the community. Universities, and UCF in particular, need all the help they can get right now, especially if they want to continue growing without sacrificing the quality of education they provide.
And when the chairmen of the boards of trustees meet in the future, they should do so in public.
Be the first to comment on this article!