Rejecting the Capitol's bait, Ocala Star-Banner

November 15, 2008

Even in the old world of the Florida Constitution, Amendment 8 would have failed. It would have given counties the right to ask voters if they wanted to raise the sales' tax to support the local community college.

It didn't impose the tax — but only gave the option to have it. Under the new requirements, an amendment to the constitution requires 60 percent of the vote to pass. Amendment 8 mustered only 43.5 percent of the vote.

The local sales' tax could be imposed for five years, with voter approval needed for a five-year extension after that.

For the rest of this editorial, click here.

College students line U.S. 1, rally for Amendment 8, Miami Herald

By Patricia Mazzei
October 28, 2008

Hundreds of Miami Dade College students lined U.S. 1 from Miami to Florida City Tuesday morning, cheering and holding colorful posters urging drivers to approve a ballot measure that would allow voters to agree to a local tax to benefit community colleges.

Amendment 8 on the Nov. 4 ballot would modify the state Constitution to allow counties to ask voters if they want to pay extra sales tax for community colleges grappling with severe state budget cuts.

For the rest of this article, click here.

For a related story, click here and here.

Amendment 8 holds dangers for community colleges, Herald Tribune

October 9, 2008


While attention has been given to other high-profile amendments on November's ballot, a lesser known amendment has the potential to raise local taxes and cause unintended consequences for community colleges -- Florida's point of entry to higher education for more than 800,000 students every year.

Amendment 8, known as the local option sales tax, would allow counties to increase their sales tax to supplement community college funding. (Taxpayers would have to vote for the tax.) The amendment was placed on the ballot by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission with what I believe were good intentions to promote the valuable contributions of community colleges. However, the commission failed to recognize the amendment's potential drawbacks for the community college system.

For the rest of this op ed, click here.

For related stories, click here, here, here, here, and here.

For Florida community colleges, Who should pay? Inside Higher Educaiton

September 19, 2008

Remember the theory that community college should be supported by states, localities and tuition? In Florida, it’s strictly a theory, as counties don’t provide any financial support. In a move that is dividing community colleges in the state, a proposal on the fall ballot for a constitutional amendment would give counties the authority to levy a local-option sales tax to supplement state funding for their community college.

Currently, Florida community colleges are funded entirely by the state in addition to student tuition and fees. Some support the amendment, which would pave the way for an additional funding source to compensate for a strained state budget. Others, however, worry it will shift the burden of community college funding to local authorities and create inequities among institutions as a result of the disparate economies of Florida’s urban and rural counties. (Many of Florida’s community colleges are known as leaders in the movement to offer four-year degrees and to drop “community” from their names, but these institutions are equally involved and would be equally affected by this shift.)

For the rest of this article, click here.

Stealth Amendments, Herald Tribune

September 8, 2008

When the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission formally proposed Amendment 7 and Amendment 9, it was apparent that the panel strayed far from its mission.

To read the rest of this editorial, click here.