Northwest Fla. College meeting held at members-only club

A meeting to discuss legislation that would elevate Northwest Florida State College above traditional community college status was held at a members-only club with little public notice. Caterers were told not to post signs directing the public to the meeting room. Consequently, no members of the public were present.

Rep. Roy Sansom and the board of trustees of Northwest Florida State College met in Tallahassee last March to discuss legislation that, once passed, elevated the school above traditional community colleges.

State law requires a get-together like that be held in public. But the meeting, arranged by Sansom at the request of college President Bob Richburg, was held with little public notice at a members-only club in Tallahassee, 150 miles from the Northwest Florida campus in Okaloosa County.

The latest disclosure casts new light on one of the controversial elements of Sansom’s relationship with the school, which derailed his tenure as House speaker and triggered a grand jury investigation. Sansom also faces review by a House special investigator and the state Commission on Ethics headed by state Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton.

More here.