“CONGRATS to the EduGator Nation!!” Glenn Good, the dean of the College of Education, wrote in an email Tuesday afternoon.
Norman Hall received $14.1 million from the Florida Legislature to renovate the building after Gov. Rick Scott released his 2016-2017 budget veto list Tuesday. Norman Hall’s request wasn’t on that list.
The money covers more than half of the $24.4 million needed to renovate the building, Good said. For the 2015 budget request last summer, Scott vetoed $8 million for Norman Hall repairs.
Maddie McClinton, a former UF student senator for the College of Education, said she traveled to Tallahassee to lobby for money for Norman Hall after Scott vetoed it.
She heard rumors that Scott planned to sign it, but the announcement was a relief, the 21-year-old said.
“Education is not always the most talked about,” the UF elementary education senior said. “It is growing and changing, and the field of education is still as important as everything else.”
Matthew Hoeck, the Student Government director of external affairs, said he printed Scott’s veto list and the external affairs team scoured through it, looking for Norman Hall.
While lobbying, SG told legislators about asbestos, mold and flooding in the building built in the 1930s.
“We had members of (the Florida Legislature) saying, ‘Wow, this was in bad shape’ when we were there,” Hoeck said. “We’re glad to see those talks were productive and our lobbying was successful.”
Contact Melissa Gomez at mgomez@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @MelissaGomez004.
