Gov. Scott Coy About Vetoing A Tuition Increase

Florida Governor's Office

Gov. Rick Scott has a little over a week left to veto a tuition increase.

Gov. Rick Scott hasn’t given any indication that he’s ready to sign the $74.5 billion budget the Florida Legislature sent him early this month.

He’s expected to veto some line items, including a 3 percent tuition hike for universities and a similar increase for state colleges.

“I’m reviewing the budget, and I haven’t decided when to finish that,” Scott told reporters in Miami yesterday.

While Scott hasn’t said he’ll nix the tuition increase, he has repeatedly said he is against it.

He alluded to that when asked yesterday about his inspector general’s report on college president salaries.

“I think all of us want to make sure every child has the opportunity for a great education; we keep the cost of getting a higher education as low as possible so they don’t have to incur debt,” Scott said. “I’m sure all the trustees of the state colleges and universities are going to want to make sure money is not wasted.”

The budget also includes Scott’s much sought after pay raises for teachers. Most will receive between $2000 and $3500 depending on their evaluations.

Scott will be in Santiago, Chile next week on a trade mission. He is scheduled to return to Tallahassee on May 24th. That’s the deadline for him to sign the budget.