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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 28, 2008

Obscene Raises

On consecutive days, Nov. 20-21, The Tampa Tribune provided information on the challenges of financing higher education in Florida from which I surmised that the quality of learning isn't likely to be resolved any time soon. Not surprisingly, it's all about money.

On Nov. 20, The Tribune's editorial page gave an opinion that the "State Board Deserves Say In President's Evaluations," referring to the Florida Board of Education and university presidents. Of course, the presidents would rather maintain the current procedure whereby their local boards evaluate their compensation, however self-serving it is.

The paper gave statistics from an annual report issued by the Chronicle of Higher Education. For instance, University of Florida President Bernie Machen earns more than $731,000 in total compensations and ranks as one of the 10 highest paid in the United States. Five other Florida university presidents earn well above the national average of $427,000.

The following day, The Tribune ran an article, "Crist Backs Increasing Tuition Rates," regarding a proposal to raise tuition rates by up to 15 percent at all 11 state universities, although the increase had been granted to five institutions during the past year: FSU, UF, UCF and the Florida International University in Miami and the University of Central Florida. Student fees would increases about $200 per semester.

After vetoing an across the board 5-percent tuition increase last year, Gov. Charlie Crist now backs the 15 percent increase because of state budget cuts. Limitations would allow a maximum of 40 percent in additional tuition fees in any three-year period. At this rate it'll take eight years for Florida tuition rates to catch up with the national average. Of the total increases, 30 percent would support financial aid to low-income students. The other 70 percent would be used to recruit and retain faculties.

It's interesting to note that state legislative members weren't aware of these considerations.

The Tribune's two articles pieced together a view that the higher education system runs parallel with the ways and means of corporations. Their boards pump up the salaries and bonuses of their officers beyond what most of us would consider reasonable dollar amounts, especially when their worth doesn't balance with the performance of a company. In return, the upper echelon of our universities sacrifice the longevity of loyalty to hire upstarts at much lower salaries or entice other professionals with higher compensation than tenured employees.

Take for instance the contention between the faculty and administration at UCF. President John Hitt was given a 46 percent raise. Vanessa Fortier, director of the University Budget Office, received a 41 percent increase. And Abraham Pizam, dean of the Rosen School of Hospitality Management, got a boost of 24.5 percent. One third of the 99 administrative positions received raises above 10 percent, with an overall average of 9.37 percent.

Another example can be found at the College of Education where Dean Sandra Robinson got a 23.9 percent raise even though her department ran a $1.3 million deficit.

At a time when college funding is constantly being reduced, it's no wonder faculty members are outraged at the discrepancies in monetary compensations. Their concerns center not only on salaries but the ever-decreasing moneys available to provide the basic needs of managing classroom activities, such as photocopier paper and phone services. They're further demoralized when faced with reprimands or dismissals because of problems in their classes; it's difficult to manage classes of 300 students.

So, what solutions might there be to offset reduced funds? The Florida Budget & Taxation Reform Commission could have made a positive difference, but it squandered their once-every-20-year meeting by ignoring needed changes in educational funding.

Since the FB&TRC failed in its duties, what's left to consider?

While visiting Rapid City, S.D., I noticed South Dakota and Florida have some very different approaches in providing tax revenues while neither have state and local income taxes.

The most notable difference between the two states is the cigarette tax. Get ready for this one: 33.9 cents in Florida (45th nationally) compared to $1.53 (14th) per pack in South Dakota! Smoking is a discretionary expense but results in higher medical costs for everyone. Smokers sacrifice their health; it seems fair they should pay a higher price for their bad habit.

There would be strong opposition from a large party of lobbyists to nearly triple the cigarette sales tax but a compromise could result in a graduated increase over a few years. This would be an alternative to raising the state sales tax by a penny, as has been discussed. The Legislature could nullify certain business tax exemptions but it's not likely.

It's a shame that instructors in higher education always get the short end of the stick when administrators reap such greater benefits. Public school teachers get the raw end of the stick even though they have the responsibility of providing the next generations with the very foundation of knowledge and learning.

In all levels of government, the quality of leadership determines the health of a community. Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Legislature need to provide a more concerted effort at meeting the demands of providing fiscal accountability, especially that of all levels of the state educational system.

Ron Rae

Weeki Wachee

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