With plenty of waste in an $82B state budget to explore, Corcoran’s focus on these small groups makes the Speaker look like a bully, simply trying to score political points for himself. To add insult to injury, despite years of being kicked around by the legislature, our universities are thriving in many ways, and now, with state funding levels at all-time lows, the Speaker wants to kick the fundraisers in the teeth simply because he can and he knows they can’t fight back.
While this may or may not affect the morale of the fundraisers, what is more dangerous for the universities is if donors believe their contemplations, deliberations and other communications with state universities is a matter of public record. These benefactors may, instead, choose to work with charities that don’t embarrass their donors by making their information public. In other words, big donors will not communicate with our universities and critical fundraising will suffer.
If Corcoran has a legitimate motivation or purpose for his inquiry, he should reveal it and get to the point of making his point. If he does not, we implore him to move on, pick a meaningful fight, like the corruption that goes on in legislative fundraising where pay-for-play tactics seem more apparent every year and disclosure gets even more limited. Just think how strong Florida’s universities could be if our legislators raised money for them, instead of PAC’s created for no other purpose than to pad the pork barrels of the politicians that run them. Now that fundraising could use a good review!