Against the Grain II
By Vaughn R. Wilson
Florida A&M University uses the mantra that ends with the emphatic phrase Strike! Strike! And Strike again! That’s exactly what five FAMU graduates did in ensuring that the historically Black university was funded to the highest level through the Florida Legislature in history. The “FAMU Five” used an alignment strategy both in the Democratic party and allies outside of the party to ensure a take of over $60.3 million dollars above the school’s annual operating expenditures for infrastructure, capital projects, and student enhancement initiatives.
Led by Florida Democratic Party leader-designate Rep. Ramon Alexander (D-Tallahassee), Florida Conference of Black State Legislators (FCBSL) chair Sen. Bobby Powell (D-Palm Beach), Florida Future Caucus co-chair Sen. Shevrin Jones (D-Hollywood), Kamia Brown (D- Orlando) and newcomer Travaris McCurdy (D-Orlando), the FAMU alums had a successful take in the Florida Legislature’s 2022 budgeting cycle.
This take comes at a time where the educational world is absorbing the knowledge that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been underfunded for decades. A Forbes magazine report stated that FAMU had been underfunded over $1.9 billion during its history when compared to its white counterpart schools. The report was one of several articles made public in late 2021 and early 2022 that has brought to light the plight of HBCUs and the disparity they’ve faced in funding.
Alexander, set to take the helm of the Florida Democratic party in 2023, has been aggressive during the 2022 session in making public his disdain for bills proposed during session which are based on division and political positioning, but savvy enough to continue the fight for funding for both his alma mater and his district. Powell is well-known for his ability to posture his positions while maintaining the respect of his counterparts in the Senate. Brown serves on several legislative committees, most importantly the appropriations committee. Jones, who serves as vice-chair of the education committee, is also known for his ability to get things done across party lines. McCurdy is the newcomer but is seen as the rising star within the FCBSL and is effective at executing political compromise.
Included in the 2022-2023 budget for FAMU was $27.7 million for campus wide utility infrastructure improvements. That includes funding for university boilers and chillers and the upgrading of those facilities in general. $26.9 million was included for deferred building maintenance. This funding will allow the university to bring aging buildings that are still in use up to par. The budget allots $5 million in educational and operational enhancement funds. This critical funding will be directed toward student experience and retention. $6.6 million is dedicated to the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering building’s upgrade and maintenance. $1.5 million is geared toward the FAMU Crestview Campus.
These appropriations made it to the Florida budget despite one of the most toxic political climates in the history of the state and country. Bipartisan collaboration was a thing of the past. The unified effort put in by these colleagues sets the roadmap of how FAMU can attain and retain resources needed to move the university forward.
With several lean years of campus appropriations with the advent of performance-based funding, this year’s success did not happen without the elimination of those performance metrics which crippled Florida A&M in the past. Alexander ran on the promise of eliminating the metrics which in its purest form robbed FAMU of millions of dollars of funding. That effort cleared the way for the 2022 budgeting cycle where the school was in consideration for much-needed and much-delayed funding from the state. In some cases, this budget actually approves more for FAMU than it does for Florida State University.
As it pertains to the Big Bend area, Alexander’s persistence for the constituents of Gadsden County was also realized in this budget. A $10 million Emergency and Public Safety Complex for Gadsden County in included in this year’s budget. In addition, $500,000 for the City of Midway (Street lights), $435,000 for the City of Gretna (Water Meter Replacement), and $100,000 for (Chattahoochee water upgrades) are slated to be funded in this budget.
Particularly the Midway Street light allocation is a vital one in our area. The death of a woman who simply could not see where she was driving down a dark Midway Road resulted in the push for the addition of streetlights for the young city. Midway officially became a municipality in 1986 in a state act. Since then, the codification and expansion of municipal offerings has expanded under the Midway City Commission.
While the budget has one final hurdle of Governor Ron Desantis’ pen, it is a monumental success for the “FAMU Five” to work with all of their counterparts to get the items placed in the budget. The FAMU alma mater has a line that says, “I’ll fight and win whatever the battle be.” These special Rattlers have won one of the biggest resource battles in the school’s 135-year history.
Finally, the success of these lawmakers could not have been possible without them first getting elected. While the mass of voters exercises their rights to vote every four years in the presidential election year, the mid-year elections are where most battles are won. Several positions that play into the process are elected in mid-terms. While FAMU will benefit from the leadership of five alums who worked with their allies in the FCBSL and across the aisle, they must be rewarded with support in the form of voting for their re-elections where applicable in order to ensure the continued success of appropriations for the continued success of Florida A&M University.
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