A powerful Florida House higher-education budget panel yesterday signed off on a plan that would pull the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus out of the USF system and hand it to nearby New College of Florida. The proposal, tucked into Gov. Ron DeSantis’ budget, would transfer the campus’ buildings, roughly 32 acres of land and what state documents and university officials describe as about $53 million in dorm-related debt. With the subcommittee’s vote, the idea now races into the next phase of the state’s appropriations process on a tight legislative clock.
As reported by WUWF, the Higher Education Budget Subcommittee advanced language that would formally move buildings, equipment and outstanding facility debt from USF Sarasota-Manatee to New College. Committee chair Rep. Demi Busatta cast the shift as a way to match campus oversight with local geography, while Democrats on the panel countered that the state could be locking itself into a long-term financial gamble.
What The Bill Would Require
The legislative language would order New College’s board to take on legal and financial responsibility for any remaining debt tied to Sarasota-Manatee facilities by a deadline later this year, and it would trigger a July 1 transfer of the property unless certain conditions are not met. WUSF reports that the bill sets an October cutoff for New College to complete the steps needed to assume the debt and directs the school to pay USF about $166,617 per month starting July 1 until the debt is officially transferred. If those payments are not made, the transfer would be voided, according to the report.
Local Reaction And Risks
Faculty and community leaders are sounding alarms, arguing that a campus offering roughly 40 undergraduate programs and serving many nontraditional students could be destabilized by a sudden change in who runs it. Local reporting by Bay News 9 and other regional outlets highlights donors, faculty senators and alumni warning that the move could uproot programs that feed Sarasota’s workforce and that the deal feels less like a partnership and more like an eviction of USF’s long-standing presence in the city.
Critics are also pointing to recent state audits and New College’s spending habits as warning signs. Reporting on executive compensation and the school’s expanding spending footprint, including a recent bonus awarded to New College President Richard Corcoran, has fueled questions about whether the small liberal-arts institution can realistically absorb the added debt without major new revenue or a steady stream of legislative support, according to WLRN and other coverage.
Next Steps
The subcommittee’s action sends the proposal into the broader budget talks, where House and Senate negotiators will have to hash out the details. The idea was included in the governor’s recommendations before the session began but has yet to win over all key budget players, according to reporting from the News Service of Florida. Lawmakers now face several weeks of hearings and potential amendments, while students, staff and community members at the Sarasota-Manatee campus watch to see whether Tallahassee ultimately locks in the transfer and the financial terms that come with it.
