Florida House OKs bill to transfer USFSM campus to New College. 5 things to know

The Florida House voted to pass a bill that would transfer the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida.

The bill now heads to the Senate and would need final approval with the state budget.

FULL STORY: USF Sarasota-Manatee campus transfer to New College one step closer to reality

Here are key takeaways:

• New College would gain USFSM’s 11 campus buildings, including the new 100,000-square-foot Atala Hall dormitory, but would also take on debt from the $44 million residence hall and student center. A $6.5 million STEM facility that broke ground in November would also be transferred.
• Gov. Ron DeSantis included the draft bill when he announced his proposed $117 billion state budget in December. If approved, USFSM would begin transferring its campus to New College when the bill takes effect in July.
• The House’s proposed budget would also shift $23 million in funding from USF to New College, according to the Tampa Bay Times. USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford pushed back, writing on social media: “...There is a zero percent chance that this will happen. Zero as in ‘0.’”
• Current USFSM students would be allowed to finish their degrees and use the Sarasota-Manatee campus. USF has about 50,000 students across its three campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee.
• State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orange County, voted against the bill, saying it felt like the state was “bailing out New College.” She called the school “really more of a conservative experiment” that isn’t shifting to meet workforce needs.
• Weatherford said the bill came after 18 months of conversations between USF, New College, the Florida Board of Governors, state lawmakers and the Governor’s Office. Emails obtained by the Bradenton Herald showed USF leaders tried getting the bill into last year’s legislative session.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.