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University boards belie voters' will for change
By ANITA KUMAR, Times Staff Writer
TALLAHASSEE -- Voters passed a proposal in November intended to bring sweeping changes to higher education in Florida. But on Tuesday, the first day the state's new higher education board got to work, the system looked the same as it had the last 18 months under Gov. Jeb Bush. The Board of Governors filled university boards of trustees with the same people Bush had chosen before. The group declined to take up such controversial issues as presidential compensation, leaving that to the trustees. And Jim Horne, Bush's education commissioner, encouraged the 17-member board to continue to work toward the governor's goal of a seamless education plan that streamlines all education from kindergarten to postgraduate studies. "I urge this board to implement the vision of our governor and build a K-20 system," he said. "This is the right model. It is the right approach. We need to stay the course." The board, which oversees 260,000 college students at the state's 11 public universities, passed resolutions giving powers to itself and the boards of trustees. "The Board of Governors has gotten off to a strong start," Bush said in a statement. "It is the will of the people that we maintain Florida's coordinated K-20 system of education, and I'm confident that this board will support education policy that is student-focused." Voters in November created the state's third higher education governance structure in two years when they overwhelmingly passed a proposal backed by U.S. Sen. Bob Graham . The Board of Governors is supposed to establish statewide policy and spend money while trustees oversee individual universities. But it will be several months before the Board of Governors defines what that means. Bush, who opposed the change, and the Republican-led Legislature abolished the Board of Regents and gave its authority to the Florida Board of Education, responsible for all state education. Robin Gibson, Graham's longtime friend who wrote the language for the ballot initiative, said that he remained optimistic that the new system would operate as voters intended. "If the members of the Board of Governors allow themselves to remain subservient to yesterday's system . . . then these folks would not be complying with the mandate that came from the people," Gibson said. The board elected Thomas F. Petway III of Jacksonville, chairman of Bush's transition team, as its leader. Carolyn Roberts of Ocala, a former member of the Board of Education who campaigned against the amendment that created the new system, was elected vice chairwoman. The group also appointed 55 people to local boards of trustees. Every one already was a sitting member. Petway said the governors did not have time to make their own selections so they contacted the governor's office for recommendations. "They are his people," Petway said. Some faculty members said the boards were too business-oriented, the same criticism Bush received 18 months ago when he first appointed trustees. "We don't have nearly enough people with higher education experience on these boards," said Richard Briggs, a University of Florida professor and faculty representative on the Board of Governors. "It's going to hurt these boards." Phil Handy, chairman of the Florida Board of Education, described the trustees as the kind found at great universities, and the kind who understand fundraising and fiscal responsibility. -- Times researcher Deirdre Morrow contributed to this report.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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