The State University System of Florida is taking big cuts as the legislature rips $4 billion from the 2011-2012 budget. The money includes the huge hole left behind by millions of federal stimulus dollars that expire on June 30, 2011.
The news is bad for FAMU, but expected.
General Revenue
FAMU received $92.6M in general revenue in the fiscal year ending (FYE) 2011. However, $6M of FYE 2011’s general revenue appropriation was nonrecurring money designated for “special outreach” projects.
That meant FAMU actually had about $86.6M to spend for recurring expenses in FYE 2011. FAMU had $82.8M left after FYE 2010’s special session budget cuts.
FAMU President James H. Ammons got FAMU ready for the pending loss of federal stimulus dollars by running on a $79.7M recurring revenue budget in 2010-2011.
Employees whose salary lines were being paid with temporary stimulus funds were given notice that their positions would not be available in 2011-2012. Money was made available for payouts to certain laid off workers. FAMU also saved money by declining to fill many open personnel positions.
Ammons’ smart budgeting has put the university is in good shape to absorb the general revenue hit it is about to take in 2011-2012. The House gives FAMU $78M in general revenue and the Senate gives $79.1M.
Educational Enhancement
FAMU’s educational enhancement appropriation, which comes from lottery dollars, is up in both chambers. The House gives $12.2M and the Senate gives $16.2M.
Facilities
FAMU’s top PECO priority for 2010-2011 was $8M for electrical and technology upgrades. FAMU officials warned that without the money, critical building code and safety improvements would be stalled.
The legislature appropriated $7M of the $8M that FAMU needed for 2010-2011. FAMU originally planned to ask for just $8M for campus upgrades in 2011-2012, but tacked on an extra $1M to make up for the money it did not receive last year.
Both chambers give far less than FAMU needs for capital renewal. The House budget has $3M. The Senate budget only has $2M.
Tuition/Fees
The two chambers both mandate tuition increases. The House raises tuition by five percent and the Senate raises tuition by eight percent.
FAMU also has the option to heap a “differential” hike on top of any required legislative increase that can take the total figure up to no more than 15 percent.
The legislature’s tuition and fee hike revenue projections continue to utilize “fuzzy math.”
As Ammons noted in 2009, the legislature bases its tuition and fee projections on the assumption that every student will take a full course load. This is a serious problem because FAMU’s students usually take smaller course loads as college gets more expensive. That directly slices into overall tuition revenue.
For FYE 2009, the legislature projected that FAMU would make $52.7M from tuition and fees. FAMU’s actual tuition and fee collections were $7.5M short of that figure.