Did Pruitt pull a Sansom?
House Speaker Ray Sansom is right about one thing: He’s not the only lawmaker who has tried to get public education capital outlay money for schools back home. It’s a time-honored tradition and the more powerful a lawmaker, the more success he or she has. Take Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie. In the 2008 session, when Pruitt was Senate President, Indian River State College got $18.5-million in PECO money for a math and science center in Port St. Lucie. The amount the Department of Education had budgeted: $0. Only Sansom worked more budget magic. We tried to ask Pruitt what role he had in the appropriation but he refused comment. So why all the heat on Sansom? Unlike Pruitt, Sansom now is employed by his home college.
