Professors from across the country have long been lured to Florida’s public colleges and universities, with the educators attracted to the research opportunities, student bodies, and the warm weather.
But for a swath of liberal-leaning professors, many of them holding highly coveted tenured positions, they’ve felt increasingly out of place in the Sunshine State. And some of them are pointing to the conservative administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as the reason for their departures, according to The New York Times.
DeSantis, who was elected to the governorship in 2018 and was easily reelected last fall, has over the course of his tenure worked to put a conservative imprint on a state where moderation was once a driving force in state politics. In recent years, DeSantis has railed against the current process by which tenure is awarded, and with a largely compliant GOP-controlled legislature, he’s imposed conservative education reforms across the state.
Haha, about twenty years ago, I was working at a Honda dealership as a lot rat, bringing a used car in for an emissions check; there was a sign at the facility saying they were hiring, for competitive wages. I asked what they were paying, and the tech took a long drag on her cigarette and mumbled, “Minimum.”
So the DMV clerk is probably not even making $20.
I don’t know what DMV clerks make, but in general, low-end government jobs pay somewhat better than low-end jobs in other fields. They also usually come with at least decent, if not good, health insurance.
So in that sense, even the worst job at the DMV is better than a lot of other jobs. But they still should be better paid, as should we all, and that certainly makes paying a football coach millions of dollars a year hard to justify. The “football makes lots of money” argument doesn’t wash for me. Not even for sports. I’m in Indiana. Basketball coaches should be the top paid sports coach positions if this is solely about making money. But it’s still football coaches. I can tell you as a former IU student who also grew up in Bloomington that IU basketball is much bigger than IU football. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure back in the 80s, Bob Knight wasn’t the highest-paid public employee despite being one of the most recognized coaches in the country.
But I don’t think any sports coach should be the highest paid public employee, so that’s sort of moot.