TALLAHASSEE Fla.
Former Gov. Bob Graham and others are suing to have the courts declare that tuition at Florida’s 11 public universities should be set by the state Board of Governors rather than the Legislature.
The lawsuit filed Friday follows an effort this year by the state’s universities to raise tuition by 5 percent, which lawmakers approved but Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed. Crist then signed a separate bill that will allow the state’s largest universities to raise tuition incrementally over several years, but keeps student costs the same at smaller schools.
Graham, former Congressman Lou Frey and former Florida State University president Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte and others allege that when the voters created the Board of Governors in 2002 and gave it broad power over the universities, that included the power to set tuition.
A state law that gives the Legislature the ability to set tuition is therefore unconstitutional, the lawsuit argues.
Several university officials have complained that tuition in Florida is well below that of universities in other states and that they are falling behind in their effort to offer comparable educational opportunities.
In the suit, the plaintiffs say that tuition should be set by the board because the governor and Legislature may not be able to raise such fees because it is unpopular.
