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by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
December 14, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis new $10M price range for Florida HBCUs’ safety updates has state lawmakers involved that it isn’t sufficient to guard the colleges.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will allocate new funding towards the state’s HBCU safety measures. For the 2024-25 faculty yr, the “Concentrate on Florida’s Future” price range will grant $2.5 million to all 4 traditionally Black faculties and universities. Nonetheless, some lawmakers argue that the allotment will not be sufficient.
Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Edward Waters, and Florida Memorial universities will all obtain their designated hundreds of thousands to “help facility hardening wants,” totaling $10 million towards the elevated safety protections on the HBCUs. The price range may also grant $10 million for Jewish Day Colleges inside the state, with $20 million allotted to the Division of Emergency for faculties with an “elevated menace stage,” BET Information reviews.
In accordance with HBCU Buzz, Democratic State Sen. Shevrin Jones believes the funding is inadequate to totally tackle the protection considerations on the faculties, particularly because the price range is $4.6 million lower than the present yr’s designation. He publicly famous the “conspicuous absence” of significant funding for HBCUs as they face extra safety threats inside the state and throughout the nation.
“Whereas the Governor appropriately proposes measures to deal with Jewish pupil security, I used to be struck by the conspicuous absence of protections for Traditionally Black Schools and Universities as they face a troubling improve of campus threats,” Jones stated. “Our purpose have to be security throughout the board – not only for some communities.”
In Florida particularly, Edward Waters College was one of many stops made by a mass shooter in Jacksonville, who walked across the faculty’s campus earlier than fleeing as safety approached his automobile. The shooter went on to kill three folks at a Greenback Basic down the highway within the August incident. An increase in shootings round HBCU communities has shocked the nation, with Morgan State and Bowie State College college students additionally being impacted by gun violence.
Whereas the price range allocation is supposed to higher shield the colleges in gentle of the rise in violence, many fear that the lackluster funding will solely spell bother for HBCUs within the upcoming yr.
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