Gov. DeSantis vetoes $3M for first responder, public safety facility at Big Bend Technical College

Less than a year after Hurricane Idalia devastated Big Bend communities, testing the resolve of emergency personnel tasked with rescuing people there, Gov. Ron DeSantis is saying “no” to funding for a facility where future first responders could train.

With his veto pen, the Governor nixed a $2.96 million earmark for Big Bend Technical College.

The move came about three months after he presented the school with a $5 million check for the construction of a 10,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing teaching facility. A photo of the occasion is the background for the school’s Facebook page.

The vetoed funds would have gone toward building a 7,000-square-foot building in which the school would offer a new postsecondary firefighter and paramedic program, a dual-enrollment public safety telecommunications program, and an expansion of an existing commercial vehicle driving program.

Other planned expenditures included the purchase of a fire truck, rescue vehicle truck equipment, simulators and telecommunications equipment.

Tallahassee Republican Sen. Corey Simon and Port St. Joe Republican Rep. Jason Shoaf asked for $4 million for the project through identical appropriation requests. State lawmakers reduced it by more than $1 million during the past budget conference.

The facility would have benefited an estimated 30-50 students yearly. According to the Taylor County School District, which owns and operates Big Bend Technical College. Displaced workers from the recently closed Georgia Pacific Mill in Perry and supporting industries would have been targeted for enrollment.

“In addition to the opportunity for students to have different career training opportunities, (Big Bend Technical College) will produce firefighter graduates that will handle residential, commercial and wildfires and is an investment in the safety and health for our community. The training of 911 operators will serve all facets of public safety within the region,” the applications said.

“The program graduates will fill vacancies within the region which in turn provide lifesaving services, (and) the community has a need to re-employ/retrain a large sector due to closing of the Georgia Pacific Mill.”

DeSantis vetoed $900 million from the budget Wednesday, reducing spending to about $116.5 billion, or about $1 billion less than the current year.

“Some of the stuff I don’t think was appropriate for state tax dollars. Some of the stuff are things that I support but that we have state programs for,” DeSantis said during a press conference.

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Gabrielle Russon contributed to this report.