House Speaker Ray Sansom is not buckling under controversy over his appointment as vice president of NW Florida State College. Despite some calls for him to resign the $110,000-a-year position, he is staying put.

"I am very proud to be a college administrator," Sansom said this afternoon in a telephone interview with the St. Petersburg Times during his first day on the job. "I hope to be here for the rest of my professional career."

Might that also include taking over as president? "I’ll cross that bridge if and when that opportunity ever comes up," Sansom said, praising current president Bob Richburg.

Despite more questions
over his dealings with the school, Sansom again said he is a member of
a citizen Legislature and brings experience in education to the table.
(He has a master's in education and has worked for the Okaloosa County
School Board.)

"Every legislator on Florida has another job. We have doctors. We have
lawyers. We have insurance agents. … We are in tune with what’s
happening because we’re out in the work force. I would not want to see the state of Florida Legislature turn into
California and have full-time legislators. You lose touch with your
community and you lose touch with your profession."

Sansom stressed that the construction money for his new employer came
from a fund earmarked by law for capital projects and that it could not have
gone to other uses, such as teacher salaries.

The public education capital outlay money was used across the state, he
added, to build up colleges and stimulate the economy.

"The PECO list
is put together by legislators, the House and the Senate, and the governor signs it. Everything is very transparent and very clear. It's
a collective decision," Sansom said.

As for turning a $1-million budget allocation into $25.5-million during budget negotiations this spring, Sansom said it was one of 12 projects that legislative leaders and the governor agreed should get accelerated funding "because the money was there this year."

The funds will be used to renovate existing space at the Niceville campus and add a third floor to a building for the college's leadership institute.

"We're doing our job. We're trying to fund projects for colleges across the state. There is a need in St. Petersburg, in Miami and" in North Florida, Sansom said.

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