College costs, economic development and redistricting top Treasure Coast legislative priorities

January 19, 2012 | Articles | TCPalm Print

By Jonathan Mattise

TALLAHASSEE — The Treasure Coast’s top business, nonprofit and government leaders took to the Capitol on Wednesday to hear firsthand what the state’s 60-day legislative session has in store for the local economy and education scene.

The verdict: priorities for college programs could shift, more attention could go toward economic development, and redistricting maps could dramatically change the region’s state representation.

Florida’s Research Coast, including the separate St. Lucie, Indian River, and Stuart/Martin County chambers of commerce, assembled about 45 members in Tallahassee for the group’s annual legislative conference. The crew that ranged from county commissioners to small business owners spent time with local House and Senate delegates, heard from the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity, and chatted up Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam about the effect of Lake Okeechobee releases on our waters.

Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, posed questions that the Legislature is mulling now in higher education — should more resources go toward science, technology, engineering and math degrees, which Gov. Rick Scott and many legislators claim make students more job-market-ready? Or should STEM tracks carry a weightier price tag to make up for how much more they cost?

Indian River State College President Edwin Massey said his school is already STEM-oriented. But he added that IRSC wants to ensure a wide range of majors is still available at a price students can afford.

“We’d have to look really close at the differentiation between costs,” Massey said. “We would not want to cost students out of the STEM programs. I think it’s worth talking about and studying, but I think we have to be very careful how we approach that.”

St. Lucie County Chamber President Linda Cox said she met with Rep. Debbie Mayfield’s staff, and got a good feel on potential inter-county collaboration for the proposed Florida Inland Port, a cargo distribution center on 4,000 acres in western St. Lucie County.

“The inland port is something that our chamber board is very supportive of, and I think we’re getting the support from Indian River and Martin County, which I think is going to be great for us,” Cox said.

Martin’s county and chamber officials also questioned how Martin would be divided in state House redistricting maps. The way the maps stand, all of Stuart would be in one district with parts of Port St. Lucie, and south of Stuart and northern Palm Beach would be in a different district for the next decade. Their concern is that eventually, Martin County might not even have one delegate in the state House.

“It’s a 10-year cycle, and a lot can happen in 10 years,” Martin County Commissioner Ed Ciampi said.