The tug-of-war for tuition-setting power between the state Legislature and the Board of Governors has no end in sight, according to a former higher education official who spoke at UF on Wednesday.
Robin Gibson, UF alumnus and former chairman of the Florida Board of Regents, spoke about issues of tuition, capped enrollment and Bright Futures to about 35 people at Pugh Hall.
"The state of Florida does not have a history or tradition that favors education," Gibson said.
The Board of Regents had authority over the state's public universities until the Board of Governors was established in 2003.
The board and Legislature's power struggle has been in effect since 2002, he said.
The lawsuit against the state involves former Sen. Bob Graham, the board and Gibson, who is the case's lead attorney.
"The Legislature is struggling to hold on to as much control as possible," he said.
Although actions have been taken to fight against the Legislature's control, Gibson said this process will be a slow one.
Gibson noted in his address that California's new way of governing higher education and providing a stable amount of tuition.
California universities, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature have a mutual agreement that makes the state tax and tuition flexible depending on the other's needs. He said a similar system should be adopted in Florida.
"Supplementing public funding is the only way to get there," he said.
Even with all of the problems Florida's education system faces, Gibson remained optimistic about its future.
"Florida is different from a lot of states," he said. "When you take what we came from, our achievement is ahead of us. It's just a question of what we do with it."
