ORLANDO, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott wrapped up his weeklong tour across Florida to talk about his plans to lower college tuition by speaking to a crowd at a 4Rivers Smokehouse in Orlando on Friday.
Students chanted, "Let's keep working" behind Scott as he discussed plans that he says will keep college affordable.
"Whatever ZIP code you come from, we're going to make sure you have a chance at a higher education," Scott said.
The stop in Orlando for his "college affordability tour" came the same week he signed a bill lowering tuition for all Florida students, including students in the state who are undocumented citizens.
"Charlie Crist passed legislation that increased tuition 15 percent a year. This year, we stopped it," said Scott. "We've got to do everything we can to hold the line on tuition and that's what I plan to do."
He also talked about his efforts to lower Florida prepaid for families, from $350 to $250 a month per child. He says it will reduce the cost by $20,000 for parents who pay up front.
But while he was speaking inside, a group of students protested his message outside.
"Gov Scott is not working for us," said Sam Coleman, of Florida for All. "His second year in office he cut funding by $300 million, forcing universities all over the state to raise their tuition."
Coleman also said Scott is limiting access to college after he cut funding for Florida Bright Future Scholarships. This fall, the amount of students going to college on a Bright Futures scholarship will be cut in half, to just over 20,000 students.
"We will not be fooled by election year pandering while he uses his victory tour to boast about how its working for the middle class while students forgo their dreams to go to college," he said.
Charlie Crist, the Democratic candidate for governor, said Scott's tour amounts to nothing more than election-year politics.
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