The already existing public technical college receives the same amount of funding, despite two county commissioners’ belief that it was entitled to the full $15 million
By Florence Fahringer
Original Air Date: September 13, 2024
Host: The Sarasota County Commission has $15 million to allocate for job training in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Some commissioners were ready to give it all to the Suncoast Builders Association. Florence Fahringer has the story.
Florence Fahringer: On Tuesday, the Sarasota County Commission had to decide what it planned on doing with fifteen million dollars of federal grant money. This sliver of the over two hundred million dollar grant fund is designated for trade and career training, in an effort to bolster Sarasota County’s workforce in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Two big contenders presented themselves: The Sarasota County School Board, which requested half of the fifteen million; and the Building Industry Institute, an organization closely tied to the Suncoast Builders Association, which requested over thirteen million dollars. The presence of the Suncoast Builders concerned Jane Goodwin, a former Sarasota School Board member as well as a former head of the Suncoast Builders’ predecessor, the Home Builders Association of Sarasota.
The North Port campus of the public Suncoast Technical College
Jane Goodwin: I just think that it smells, and the fact that without a track record, they’re talking about the National Home Builders, and I know they have plenty of money, and that they will help facilitate this program. But really? It’s a stretch.
And really, it’s not needed. We have a Manatee Technical College location in Manatee, which they have partnered with, who are doing a very good job. And we have two technical colleges in our county. The question is, do we need that?
FF: Goodwin also has concerns about Commissioner Mike Moran’s connection with the Suncoast Builders, and its CEO, Jon Mast.
JG: Mike Moran, who’s terming out in November, who is a great friend of John Mast, who runs the Home Builders Association. A lot of the conjecture of the grift that recently was uncovered about his PACE activities at such places as Las Vegas was to entertain the Masts. So, he was the one that wanted to carve out $15 million of the funds that were received from HUD for workforce development. So what my conjecture is, he’s talking to Mast about this a long time ago. Perhaps this was intended for them.
FF: The commissioners heard a presentation from each of the candidates for funding. Scored and reviewed by county staff, the Sarasota County School board’s program — which would go toward a technical college in North Port — was graded a B-plus with a score of eighty-nine point three, while the Suncoast Builder’s program was graded an F, with a score of forty-one point seven. The school board’s request would have resulted in spending nearly seven thousand dollars per student, while the Suncoast Builders’ program projected spending over thirty thousand dollars per student. And while the School Board has plenty of experience in trade schools, this would be the Suncoast Builders’ first foray into education programs. Goodwin suspects that building a quality trade school may not be the top priority for the Suncoast Builders.
JG: They are looking at a new location. They’re going to buy a location. They haven’t done it yet. They don’t have an existing school. They don’t have any track record or any experience. I think it’s sketchy that they give them this kind of money — seven and a half million dollars — with no track record. They are going to move their whole office out of Lakewood Ranch into this facility. It will be ‘26 before this thing is completed. So they are looking at buying it next year and renovating it. And it’s the Perkins, or a breakfast place, on Fruitville Road. They want to pay somebody $200,000 to facilitate this as the director of this apprentice school. Is that money that John Mast will get in addition to his salary?
FF: At the commission meeting, Commissioner Neil Rainford was the first to make a motion on the item, at first proposing that the commission fund the Suncoast Builders’ request entirely, and give the remaining two million dollars to the school board, just twenty four percent of what it requested. When he gauged that this proposal had no support from the board, he instead moved to give the school board just over five million dollars, and give the Suncoast Builders just shy of ten million. The motion received no second, and died on the floor.
Commissioner Mark Smith suggested that they do the reverse of Rainford’s initial proposal, fully funding the school board’s request, then giving the remaining seven and a half million dollars to the Suncoast Builders. Commissioner Mike Moran said he liked the idea, but had some reservations.
Mike Moran: Commissioner Smith, I think I could support your premise on this, of funding 2 and the balance going to 3, but it does come with some reservations, and I’ll tell you why. Let’s be clear here, the school board is another governmental entity and they do have a billion-dollar-plus budget. These could have been, some would argue maybe should have been, priorities or missions of that other governmental institution. If they weren’t priorities, what were they choosing as something other than that priority? But again, it’s another governmental entity. To add to that is, there is a brand new, if you ask me, a brand new board coming about at the school board, they might have a totally different mission.
FF: Goodwin’s thoughts on Moran’s comments?
JG: First of all, we have only one new member coming on the board and that’s Liz Barker. And Tom Edwards got reelected, but you know, the other three bozos will be up in two years and we hope they’ll be soundly defeated. But that was a lie. That was a big fat lie.
FF: Throughout the discussion, Commissioner Joe Neunder was unyielding in his belief that all of the fifteen million dollars go toward the school board. He talked at length about his experience touring the North Port campus, and praising the program, its administration, and its effectiveness. That being said, he never actually made a motion to back up his convictions. When Smith moved to split the funding evenly, Rainford gave his support. His proposal received two nays, from Neunder and Commissioner Ron Cutsinger. That made Moran, current chair of the commission, the tie-breaker.
MM: Okay, all those in favor signify by saying aye.
Neil Rainford: Aye.
MM: Any opposed?
Joe Neunder: Opposed.
Ron Cutsinger: Opposed.
MM: Chair votes aye, passes 3–2.
FF: It’s not thirteen million dollars, but seven and a half million dollars will have to do for the Suncoast Builders’ new project on Fruitville Road. The school board got the money it requested, but in Goodwin’s opinion, they could have done with the whole thing.
JG: We asked for about seven and a half, but I wanted us to get all of it.
FF: So why didn’t the school board request all of it?
JG: I don’t know. I’m not directly involved anymore. I would have done that.
FF: This is Florence Fahringer, reporting for WSLR News.
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