THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, February 10, 2012 -

Michael Peltier, The News Service of Florida

A Senate proposal inked Thursday would speed up the spin-off of Florida Polytechnic from the Tampa-based University of South Florida and create the state's 12th public university in Polk County, the Senate's top budget leader said Thursday.

The proposal, which has the support of powerful Senate Budget Committee Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, came into focus Thursday and immediately drew jabs from House Speaker Dean Cannon, who called the move "a distraction" from larger higher education priorities and possibly not in the best interests of the state university system as a whole.

"It is symptomatic of the parochialism that in the past has, I think, either prevented or occurred in the absence of a broad system of governance," Cannon told reporters Thursday.

Speaking to reporters later Thursday, Alexander said he has no reason to believe USF officials, who fought against the split, will follow through on plans approved by state university leaders last fall to separate the polytechnic from USF.

"I have no confidence in the stewardship of USF based on their actions," Alexander said.

The USF Polytechnic issue has been simmering for months, coming to a head in November when the separation was approved by the State University System Board of Governors

In November, the governing boards voted 13-3 to allow the Lakeland-based school to become Florida Polytechnic and separate from USF. The board, however, set up a long list of benchmarks, including separate accreditation, an established campus that includes residence halls, and more graduates with science and technology degrees. Only then would the BOG allow the university to separate itself from the USF system.

On Thursday, the Senate budget committee's higher education subcommittee included a seven-page blueprint for the separate institution to meet those benchmarks by the end of 2016, and to become independent of USF right away.

The split ignited debate throughout Central Florida, with some faculty, students, alumni and the USF System schools largely opposed, but top administrators at USF Polytechnic, many influential business leaders in the community, and some lawmakers, strongly supporting it.

One flashpoint of criticism was the speed of the school's drive to independence. Polk County community leaders spelled out a break-off plan to the Board of Governors in a letter in July. Earlier in the summer, Polytechnic had won a major victory when it avoided a veto of $35 million for a new campus.

On Thursday, Alexander's efforts got a boost from his chamber's leader, who said he supported the split and would work to make it so.

"Our goal is to affirm what the Board of Governors has already done," said Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island.

Given such support, the item may likely become a bargaining chip in the upcoming House-Senate debate over the state budget. The House, for example, has called for saving the Jefferson Correctional Institution from closure, a priority not shared by Senate budget leaders, at least for now.

"If that is a priority of the Senate we will give it the same consideration that we hope they give our priorities," House Speaker Dean Cannon told reporters Thursday after the House approved its $69.2 billion spending plan.