Still no public explanation for why new engineering budget entity only has $12.9M instead of $15.9M

FAMU representatives meeting with Sen. Bill Montford during FAMU Day at the Capitol

The new budget entity for the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering has about $3M less than the total amount of money that the college received last year. But the FAMU administration and elected legislative delegation that represents the university still have not given a public explanation for why this is.

Back in 2014, FAMU received a $10.9M appropriation for the program in its general revenue budget. That was the money for maintenance needs, plant operations, and the salaries of 23 FAMU professors and 27 FSU professors. FSU received a separate appropriation of $5M in its general revenue budget that paid for another 36 FSU professors.

This year, the FAMU administration supported a proposal by the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) to place the operating funds for the college into a new budget entity. A plan that the BOG approved on February 19 stated that the new budget entity would “include all operating funds for the Joint College, including the appropriate amount of plant operation and maintenance funds.”

But the new budget entity does not have the full amount of $15.9M that the college received in 2014.

The new budget entity for the college appears as item 138A under Section 2 of the General Appropriations Act in both the Florida Senate and House of Representatives. It is entitled “Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and Florida State University College of Engineering from General Revenue Fund.” The House proposes $12,999,761 but the Senate proposes slightly less with $12,997,476.

If the new budget entity had all of the money that the college received in 2014, then the total would be $15.9M.

FSU has not made a public fuss about the difference between the total $15.9M that the College of Engineering received last year and the $12.9M that is in the new budget entity. That means that all of the money for the FSU faculty at college must be safe.

The time has come for a public explanation of what is going on with the budget for the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Is there still an FSU-only engineering appropriation that is going straight into the FSU general revenue budget? If there is, then FAMU should receive the $10.9M it received for the college in 2014 (plus any increase for operational costs) in its general revenue budget again.