Henderson: Sen. JD Alexander plans mayhem for USF

Column

Even by his own wretched standards, state Sen. JD Alexander has outdone himself this time. His obsession to have the last word with the University of South Florida now borders on legislative malfeasance.

The petulant prince of Polk County politics used his position as chairman of the Senate's budget committee to propose a 58 percent cut to the state's contribution to USF's budget for next year, and we all know why. It's the next move in his crusade to turn Polk's USF Polytechnic into an independent university as quickly as possible, presumably under the name of JD Tech.

He's like King Henry in the "Lion in Winter." Alexander plots and schemes, wanting only to win and the consequences be hanged. If he has to destroy USF to get what he wants, that's just fine.

Well, he won't win — not this time.

"The odds of that are slim and none," Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, speaker-designate of the Florida House of Representatives, told me Monday. "The good news is, we're a bicameral process in Florida. Both the House and the Senate have to agree.

"I can't speak for the Senate and their budgeting process, but our job is to make sure all the cuts are fair. Everybody is going to get cut, but it has to be across the board."

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So what's Alexander's game?  If it's to be a pain in the rear, he has succeeded. Then again, the Legislature's answer to Bart Simpson has always been a pain. Where's the sport in that?

If it's to exact revenge on USF President Judy Genshaft for firing Polytechnic Chancellor Marshall Goodman, an Alexander crony, in December, this is like using a flamethrower to start a campfire. To even propose whacking 58 percent of USF's state money (while suggesting cuts of 25.8 percent at Florida and 22.3 percent at Florida State) is beyond vile.

"I have no confidence in the stewardship of USF based on their actions," Alexander said after the proposed budget came out.

Simplified, the cuts would take $79 million from USF's budget next year, with millions more in what amounts to penalties associated with Poly.

Alexander's plan eliminates 100 percent of funding for Poly and forces USF to absorb $18 million in costs for those students and faculty, with no money to support them. He tosses in a $6 million slash for USF's College of Pharmacy, apparently just for giggles.

As tennis brat John McEnroe once said, "You cannot be serious."

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The Board of Governors has said it wants to see USF Poly move toward independence, but there is no timetable. That ought to be the last word.

 If he is looking for bargaining chips in the budget battle with the House, then he just pushed USF to the middle of the table. You never can dismiss mayhem as a motive.

USF will have to waste man hours dealing with his manufactured crisis. There were meetings all over campus Monday and there will be more before this exercise in chaos theory is done.

You'd think a man with statewide power would be concerned about serious governance, but this is JD Alexander. It's probably too much to ask.