On Monday, State Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) was approved by his colleagues to be the Florida Senate President for 2012-2014. The website Florida Current covered the vote and the accompanying speeches. For Northwest Florida, the election of Gaetz is extremely beneficial and will help our area receive attention from the state government.
In his acceptance speech, Gaetz honed in on higher education reform, stating that state universities in Florida are doing a poor job of preparing students for the economy of the future, which will require engineering, science and math skills.
He pointed out that Gov. Rick Scott has promised 700,000 jobs in seven years.
“But 700,000 jobs without 700,000 Floridians who can do those jobs is just another kind of economic crisis,” Gaetz told the audience.