02/24/2026
Be there Wed. 2/25 4:30pm
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSVgYNDK1PBQUIx04MVTgG46GM_4nqiPVm-4p_19uqdlRFAA/viewform
From our friends at NCF Freedom ⬇️
"NCF Freedom stands in solidarity with Save USFSM, The Uplands Association, Citizens to Protect the Ringling, and USF students and faculty in our opposition to the proposed transfer of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee (USFSM) campus to New College of Florida.
"The proposal, included in Governor Ron DeSantis’s proposed state budget, would shut down USF Sarasota-Manatee as soon as July 1 and transfer its land and buildings to New College. We, and many other opposed organizations, believe that the plan would destabilize higher education in the area, undermine community trust, and impose significant financial burdens on Florida taxpayers.
"The transfer would require significant public investment in facilities, operational restructuring, and potential program duplication with no demonstrated need or potential benefit to students, faculty, or stakeholders from either institution or the wider community.
"NCF Freedom has pointed to consistent administrative instability and financial mismanagement at NCF in recent years. These issues raise real concerns about whether the school is prepared to absorb additional assets responsibly. New College would incur about $53 million in debt as a result of the proposed transfer.
"As former USF Sarasota-Manatee campus president Laurey Stryker has pointed out, "[community members] haven’t seen one report, impact analysis, discussion at Board of Trustees or the Board of Governors of why this is an efficient use of state university assets."
The state would do well to demonstrate the value of the proposed plan and consult stakeholders like students, donors, and community members of both institutions in order to gain public support. Instead, the proposal is being rammed through the House, despite the fact that there seems to be little appetite for it in the Florida Senate."
