A House subcommittee on Monday advanced a bill transferring USF’s Sarasota-Manatee 32-acre campus and $53 million in dorm debt to nearby New College of Florida.
The measure, (HB 5601), which passed along party lines, would boost Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bid to reshape New College as a conservative institution.
The bill's introduction to the Higher Education Budget Subcommittee comes as the House's annual budget plan includes moving $22.5 million from USF to New College to protect taxpayers from facing any “burden” in a proposed transfer of facilities, said Rep. Demi Busatta, R-Coral Gables, who chairs the panel.
Busatta, the bill's sponsor, faced questions from Democrats before the measure passed along party lines. The pushback began before the meeting, with House Democrat Leader Fentrice Diskell of Tampa saying the plan "reeks of grift."
Busatta said the plan was based on the proximity of the two Sarasota campuses.
“Transferring what is now currently the Sarasota-Manatee facilities to the institution that is already headquartered in Sarasota aligns governance with geographic proximity,” Busatta said. “It allows for more direct oversight, strategic planning and responsiveness to regional needs at New College.”
Busatta said the proposal would not dissolve any USF programs such as nursing or early education and that students and faculty “would maintain” their USF status, even though the buildings would belong to New College.
“The two institutions amongst themselves would figure out, you know, how they're going to implement all the logistics,” Busatta said.
New College finances questioned
Rep. Daryl Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale, pointed to a recent Florida DOGE report that showed it costs New College $494,715 to produce a degree, compared with $72,252 at USF.
“To me, that's crazy,” Campbell said. “And that same reporting places per student operating expenses at $83,270, calling New College the least efficient public university in our state. And that's from our state reporting.”
Rep. Ana Eskamani, D-Orlando, asked about the $53 million in debt that New College would take on, along with new dorms that opened in 2024 on USF’s land.
“Why should we move an asset from USF over to New College when they're financially not doing well?” Eskamani said.
"I don't think it's smart. Because unless we're paying off that debt, which is likely going to happen in a future legislature, I feel like it's fiscally irresponsible to do that."
Busatta responded: “I don't have concerns. And all of our universities, our public universities, are subsidized by the state of Florida.”
Because the dorms were built for and financed through USF, which has a much larger student body, “we are transferring $22.5 million from USF to New College … since they are acquiring these new facilities. So there is no new burden to taxpayers,” Busatta explained.
Rep. Rashon Young, D-Orlando, spoke about students’ concerns at USF Sarasota-Manatee and how student government leaders at all three USF campuses are opposed to the idea.
"They have told us that they're worried about this, about the course of action, about their support services, about whether their degree path stays intact," Young said.
In January 2023, DeSantis appointed six new members to New College’s 13-member board to begin remaking the long-struggling institution in the image of the conservative Hillsdale College, a private school in Michigan.
Before the bill was introduced Monday, Driskell didn’t hold back on its perceived political motivations.
“It is constantly surrounded by controversy, but it’s the governor’s pet political project, so it’s receiving this land from USF, which has been a good school and a good community partner for years,” Driskell said during a media conference call.
“The USF community doesn’t want this. This reeks of grift. I hope this does not make it through the budget process and we stop this dead in its tracks.”
Weatherford speaks out against shifting funds
The proposal was not part of the Senate’s budget released last week, and no Senate version of the bill has been introduced, a point made by USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford in a letter sent to USF students and staff after Monday's vote.
"This legislation cannot move forward without agreement from both the House and Senate,” he wrote.
Weatherford also warned of the consequences of shifting any operating funds.
“We have been clear that the loss of any funds threatens our priority to protect our people, as they are necessary to pay for a teach-out so current USF Sarasota-Manatee students can finish their degrees on their home campus and for USF Sarasota-Manatee staff salaries on another USF campus,” he wrote.
Weatherford did not mention the dorm debt that would be transferred off USF’s balance sheet or the logistics of the proposed handover of buildings and land to New College, except to say USF could “reinvest those resources in strategic areas that would further elevate our university.”
He noted that “conversations” have been going on for 18 months, involving DeSantis’ office, State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, the state Board of Governors, New College and USF to “identify additional synergies in our partnership.”
“It is clear from those conversations that New College's growth and finding space for New College's expansion are priorities for the state,” Weatherford wrote.
“In addition, our state leaders remain focused on ensuring our colleges and universities operate efficiently and maximize value for Floridians, leading to questions about whether it is efficient to have multiple separately operated, taxpayer-funded campuses of the State University System located approximately one mile from each other.”
Until now, Weatherford has said little publicly about the proposed transfer, except to indicate it was in legislators’ hands and that USF did not “control the outcome.”
However, in a post on X on Sunday, Weatherford appeared willing to spar, referencing a Tampa Bay Times headline that mentioned the proposed handover of $22 million from USF to New College as part of the House bill.
“With respect to the folks at the Tampa Bay Times, there is a zero percent chance that this will happen. Zero as in ‘0,’ ” Weatherford wrote on X.
Alan Levine, the chair of the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System, also weighed in on social media.
“The transfer of this property is important to the @SUS_Florida. I’ve spoken with USF and NCF, and they agree on the deal for the transfer. There is a clear path forward and we support this,” Levine posted on X.
Opposition forum scheduled
Supporters of USF Sarasota-Manatee are holding a community forum to oppose the transfer on Feb. 25 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the USF Sarasota-Manatee Student Center Ballroom, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail.
“We haven’t seen one report, impact analysis, discussion at Board of Trustees or the Board of Governors of why this is an efficient use of state university assets,” said former USF Sarasota-Manatee campus president Laurey Stryker.
“The SUS DOGE report found that NCF annual cost per student is $83,000. NCF’s five-year enrollment goal is just 1,500; we have seen no plans to expand programs into more workforce-oriented degrees. How can this be efficiency?”
WUSF broadcasts from studios at the University of South Florida, including one on its Sarasota-Manatee campus, which is the subject of this story. Its broadcast license also is held by USF.
No USF or WUSF officials reviewed this story before it was published.
