TALLAHASSEE – Budget negotiations over education funding kicked off Tuesday, but the House and Senate remain at odds over major issues, including funding for universities and K-12 schools.
The House presented an $8.9 billion plan for the state’s 14 public universities, about $106 million short of the Senate’s preferred budget.
Much of the difference stems from the approach to funding for preeminent research universities, which includes the University of Florida, Florida State University, Florida International University and the University of South Florida. The University of Central Florida is slated to become a preeminent research university next month.
The Senate wants $100 million for the program, which is used to fund new faculty hires aimed at boosting research, but the House doesn’t include any money for it.
Rep. Demi Busatta, R-Coral Gables, the lead House negotiator for the higher education portion of the budget, said money for preeminent institutions could come in the form of operational funding, but it was still early in budget talks.
“This is the initial offer, and we’ll see going forward,” Busatta said.
Another major difference between the chambers is the transfer of the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College.
While the House budget allows for the move, the Senate has never approved it. Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, the lead Senate higher education budget negotiator, said the Senate might not budge.
“We’re going to be looking at that issue seriously,” she said. “At this point, we are with our position.”
The House is also offering $50 million less than the Senate’s original proposal for workforce education and development at universities.
For K-12 schools, the House included more than $30 billion in the main funding formula, about $77 million more than the Senate’s initial plan and more than $770 million more than the current budget.
The House also includes $4.6 billion for the state’s universal voucher program, which is part of the main public school funding formula, known as the Florida Education Finance Program.
The Senate prefers to separate the voucher funding from the FEFP, and passed a bill during the regular session to impose greater reporting requirements on the program, but the House rejected the move.
“We both have the goal to provide the best funding model for education in the state of Florida that funds all of our kiddos and makes sure that the funds follow them to their educational option of choice,” said Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, the main House K-12 schools budget negotiator.
But the House doesn’t include funding for the Schools of Hope program, in which charter schools run by private operators serve children in areas with persistently low-performing traditional public schools, while the Senate’s original plan sets aside $6 million.
