Education

Judge rejects suit over who runs higher ed

Plaintiffs say voters' 2002 decision to have a Board of Governors run the state's universities has been thwarted.

By DAVID KARP
Published June 1, 2005

A judge has thrown out a lawsuit challenging the way Gov. Jeb Bush runs the state university system.

Circuit Judge Russell Cole dismissed the suit filed by Floridians for Constitutional Integrity but said the group, which includes a former Florida House speaker and a former university president, could rework the lawsuit and refile it within 45 days.

The lawsuit, filed in December in Tallahassee, said Bush and the Republican-controlled Legislature are running Florida universities in violation of Amendment 11 of the Florida Constitution.

The amendment, passed by voters in 2002, gave the Board of Governors authority over Florida's public universities.

The lawsuit claimed Bush and the Legislature exercised illegal control over universities by putting the Board of Governors under the review of the state Board of Education, which runs the K-12 public school system.

It also claimed the Legislature appropriated money illegally to build a chiropractic school at Florida State University and an Alzheimer's research institute at the University of South Florida. Lawmakers should have gone to the Board of Governors first, the lawsuit claims.

The underlying issue is clear-cut: Who has the legal authority to set tuition and establish academic programs?

Judge Cole ruled that no actual controversy exists. He said the plaintiffs, who include former state university system chancellor E.T. York, had not been damaged by the government's actions.

The plaintiffs only had a "general interest" in the university system, the judge ruled. That wasn't enough to create a real dispute for the courts to settle, he said.

Dexter Douglass, an attorney for Floridians for Constitutional Integrity, argued that the plaintiffs as taxpayers were affected by the government's actions.

Carolyn Roberts, chairwoman of the Board of Governors, said she was surprised by the ruling.

"I would like the court to be specific on the merits of the Board of Governors and its relationship with the Legislature," she said. "I would invite that legal opinion."

Douglass is promising to fight on.

"We are not going to let this stand," he said. "We are not going to let the Legislature take control of the universities contrary to the will of the people."

Douglass said he could file a new lawsuit in circuit court, or attempt to file a motion that would be heard automatically by the Florida Supreme Court.

David Karp can be reached at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8430, or karp@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 1, 2005, 00:37:02]