Tampa Tribune Editorial - State Funds USF's Priorities

Tampa Tribune
June 6, 2004 Sunday
FINAL EDITION

HEADLINE: State Funds USF's Priorities

BYLINE: JEB BUSH

BODY:

By JEB BUSH

Your editorial "Bush's Veto Punishes USF, Tampa's Economic Development" (May 29) gives more importance to the 25 acres of land across from the University of South Florida than the university does. The purchase was not part of USF's three- or five-year plan, and it was not included in USF's funding request. It was not identified as a priority, even in discussions with USF leadership days before I signed the budget.

However, USF did identify the Health and Sciences Center in Tampa and additional funding for the Sarasota campus as budget priorities. Both projects are part of USF's long-term plans and have been through the appropriate legislative review to ensure they're sound investments for tax dollars. Next year the state will invest $25 million and $14 million in these projects, respectively.

Florida's budget reflects our commitment to higher education. Next year our 11 state universities will receive $3 billion, a 15.6 percent increase over current funding, giving them an additional $402.7 million. With $1.5 billion in funding, our community colleges will see the largest dollar increase in the history of the system.

The USF land purchase was one of many worthwhile projects our state cannot afford if we're going to continue to meet the growing needs of Medicaid, social services, transportation, corrections, education and other priorities in our state.

I vetoed a total of $349 million from the budget. But we'll still spend $57.3 billion next year to meet the needs of our state, $2.8 billion more than this year. Our budget includes more than $110 million in economic stimulus funds, such as incentives for the expansion of Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation - bringing another 500 jobs to the Tampa area, with an average salary of more than $70,000.

I am proud that our state economy is strong enough to generate additional resources for Floridians. I remain committed to the fiscal discipline that supports this continued growth.

The writer is governor of Florida.

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