Inside New College's takeover of USF Sarasota-Manatee

Driving the news: State lawmakers passed a bill during last month's budget special session that would hand USF's Sarasota-Manatee campus over to New College, requiring it to assume the campus' debt by Oct. 30.

• Current students at USF Sarasota-Manatee may complete their degrees there if they remain continuously enrolled, with some professors and classrooms temporarily remaining in place to ease the transition.
• If signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has already expressed support for the takeover, USF would begin transferring its buildings on July 1.

Zoom in: Excluded from the transfer are employees, programs, funds and movable educational and research equipment, as well as computers assigned to USF personnel.

• Faculty and staff at the Sarasota-Manatee campus are not expected to lose their jobs as a result of the transfer; instead, they would be relocated to USF's Tampa or St. Petersburg campus.
• The agreement bars New College from making permanent changes to any buildings it takes over and limits rebranding that could confuse remaining USF students and staff.

What they're saying: USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Board chair Rick Piccolo called the plan "difficult to endorse" in comments to WUSF, though he ultimately voted to approve the transfer.

• Piccolo added that many in the community view both institutions as "important to the region" and believe they could have collaborated more efficiently without erasing either school's distinct identity.
• "Obviously, a more collaborative approach was not selected by the governor and the Legislature," he told WUSF.