Gabrielle Russon
Florida Polytechnic University stands as a big winner in the House’s sprinkle list because lawmakers want to give $7.5 million to boost the school’s enrollment and an additional $883,000 to build a Student Achievement Center.
It’s one of several multimillion dollar projects going out in Florida higher education.
Initially, Florida Poly requested $21.5 million to further its mission to hire more faculty and double enrollment to 3,000 students by 2030.
But in budget conference, the House and the Senate were divided. The House had initially offered $10.8 million while the Senate wanted to give zilch.
By Friday, in the final days of the state’s budget talks as lawmakers inch closer to the 72-hour “cooling off” period, Florida Poly requests appeared in the House’s supplemental funding list. Both had been requested by Sen. Colleen Burton, a Lakeland Republican.
The Student Achievement Center will be a “cornerstone of Florida Poly’s campus expansion, enhancing student success by providing centralized support services, academic resources, and collaborative spaces,” according to her funding request.
The sprinkle list, as its name suggests, is an assortment of supplemental funding initiatives the Legislature compiles as budgeting processes near closure to provide typically small apportionments (compared to other earmarks) to regional projects.
Another school getting lawmakers’ favor is Nova Southeastern, a private university based in Fort Lauderdale. Both the Senate and House put in $1.4 million for Nova Southeastern’s veterans access clinic on their sprinkle lists. Sen. Alexis Calatayud, a Miami Republican, had sought the money.
The House supported several multimillion dollar projects for Florida’s public universities.
The House is giving $7.4 million to University of North Florida’s Hicks Honors College Academic Building and $5 million to Florida Atlantic University for a Health Sciences Training and Research Facility.
The House also put in $2 million a piece for Florida State University’s Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases as well as FSU’s Sunshine Genetics Pilot Program. The University of Florida’s Center of Excellence for Advanced Catheter Technology will also get just over $1 million.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s sprinkle list included $6 million for updating the comprehensive water quality study at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School and $5 million for USF St. Petersburg’s Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences Research & Teaching Facility. Also appearing up on the list was $500,000 for the University of Central Florida’s Restores PTSD Clinic for Florida’s veterans and first-responders.
