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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2002

News Release

NEA Supports Florida Initiative

No More Politics, Power and Pet Projects

Washington, D.C. - National Education Association Vice President Dennis Van Roekel made the following statement at an event today about Florida ballot initiative number 11, which would create a citizen board of regents to oversee the state's university system:

"Universities within a state should be encouraged to feed off of one another, not feed on each other. They should be encouraged to share ideas at the benefit of all, not fight for funding at the detriment of some.

"The goal of a university system is to provide high quality, higher education for the people of Florida. And the NEA supports that goal. Instead, the Florida university system is about politics, power and pet projects.

"This ballot initiative attempts to return Florida's universities to the strong, open, institutions of learning that can be a point of pride for Florida."

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.