Legislature's Full Sail Exemptions Prove Graft Remains a Bipartisan Pastime
Marshall S. Swanson 
The Orlando Sentinel recently pointed out certain property tax exemptions the legislature may be doling out to for-profit Full Sail University and the school's connected Republican backers. A proposed $1.3 million exemption provides the institution an open door to rack up the profits, all on the backs of taxpayers and their indebted students.
Full Sail uses nine properties near the school’s main campus off Semoran Boulevard, owned by companies run by the school’s leaders, including CEO and co-chairman, Ed Haddock. Legislative records show the proposal first surfaced with Sen. Joe Gruters, a Republican from Sarasota who chairs the Republican Party of Florida. Full Sail’s leaders are major political donors to both parties but have contributed heavily to the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.
In September 2020, just months before lawmakers approved the exemption, CEO and co-chairman Jim Heavener, co-founder Jon Phelps, President Garry Jones and a company linked to Haddock gave $50,000 to the committee, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
The school’s leaders have also contributed heavily to Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to the Division of Elections. Heavener has sent more than $250,000 to the governor’s political committee since 2018 and sits on the Board of Trustees at the University of Florida, a highly coveted role.
But leaders in the Republican legislative establishment aren't the only ones to benefit from the school's influence peddling. While the Sentinel did right by pointing out this behavior, they completely ignored Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy's Full Sail baggage.
Murphy served as the "university's" political director and her father-in-law Ed Haddock founded Full Sail. Documents filings in 2016 revealed Murphy possessed an ownership interest in FS Holdco, which produced annual income of up to $1 million for her. FS Holdco is the holding company for investment in Full Sail and estimates suggest she may have earned millions annually leading up to her election in Congress.
Much of the business' revenue consists of Federally-backed student loans or Federal grants. 88 percent of the students who exit or graduate from Full Sail possess student loan debt at an average of $61,000 and the school's student default rate sits at three times the national average. Murphy consistently fights to preserve and bolster this practice for obvious reasons.
With for-profit and scam universities under more scrutiny in recent years, Full Sail's leadership should find comfort in the fact that graft is still a bipartisan issue.
