The average freshman entering the University of Florida this fall had a high school GPA of 4.18 and an SAT score of 1293. That's an admissions standard that likely would have excluded many of the lawmakers and governors who are responsible for it. But the increasing exclusivity of public universities is only one of the deleterious effects of their prolonged impoverishment, and legislative leaders are still offering neither a solution nor an apology.
The fiscal backdrop is chilling. On Friday, Gov. Charlie Crist took the first step toward plugging a $1.8-billion hole in this year's state budget, asking to tap reserves for $672-million. His request comes on top of the $6-billion the Legislature already had cut for this year and doesn't reflect the $3.5-billion shortfall now projected for next year. A state that continues to grow in population, which means more high school seniors looking for a university education, has now lost revenue three consecutive years.
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