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A Times EditorialWith its approval of two new medical schools, the state Board of Governors invites the return of lawmaker meddling in higher education programs.
Florida universities produce so few doctors that four of every five who practice here come from elsewhere. More ominously, the demand for doctors in this growing state is increasing at a time when the number of medical school graduates, in relation to the population, is dropping.
That is the argument that moved the university Board of Governors to look for alternatives. But its decision Thursday to approve two new medical schools, one at the University of Central Florida and one at Florida International University, is so removed from the dire budgetary circumstances now facing higher education that the political context is hard to dismiss.
Medical schools, after all, have become such a symbol of political patronage that the last time a university governing board opposed a medical school, for Florida State University in 1999, the Legislature ended up abolishing the Regents Board and creating the medical school. John Thrasher, an FSU alumnus who was House speaker at the time, is credited with both deeds.
This new university board, created by voters in 2002, has asked lawmakers to keep their noses out of educational program decisions. But with the creation of a new medical school, which is one of the costliest intramural fights in the university system, the board essentially handed the ball to the Legislature. Rather than pick one or none, the board approved both - at a total cost of $500-million over the next decade. Were board members asking lawmakers to make the tough choice for them?
Both universities, and their communities, put together impressive plans that offer more than $100-million in private donations. Their meticulous campaigns demonstrated that increased enrollment and more residency programs won't be enough, helping win over state Education Commissioner John Winn, who has resisted university funding increases and fought to keep new construction money from flowing to higher education.
"Where I am now is pure political pragmatism," Winn said. "I don't think any of the alternatives are going to happen. . . . This is the only solution that is going to lead to action, in my opinion, in the foreseeable future."
The board, in approving the new schools, insisted that no money be taken from the budgets of existing ones and that the Legislature first pay for all new undergraduate enrollment. Those are appropriate budget priorities. Unfortunately, given current Capitol politics, they may not be realistic. Instead, it is equally possible some well-connected lawmakers will take care of Orlando and Miami at the expense of all university students. If that happens, lawmakers won't be the only ones to blame.