Florida's Board of Governors discussed upcoming slashes in the budget of Florida's 11 public universities and the happenings of Florida's legislative session in the final meetings of a two-day session on Thursday.
One of the hotter topics discussed was the differential tuition bill, which is being considered in the state Legislature and would allow universities to raise tuition by up to 15 percent per year to reach the national average.
"We have the lowest tuition fees in the country," said Bill Edmonds, the board's spokesman, after the meeting. "And we're suffering because of that. We need extra resources."
Cuts to current resources were addressed in the final meeting, including the readjusted budget of the Public Education Capital Outlay, or PECO, which is money given every three years to Florida's 11 public universities to finance the construction of new classrooms or labs. The $649 million, which was distributed from PECO throughout the university system during the last cycle, has been reduced to $358 million. Edmonds said this cut reflects the state of Florida's economy.
"This is the steepest drop in PECO we've ever seen," he said.
This cut will have a direct impact on UF, as the $92.5 million the university has received in past years will be reduced to $11.9 million.
"It's devastating," said Ed Poppell, vice president of Business Affairs at UF.
Poppell said any plans to start constructing new buildings on campus will come to a halt for two to three years as a result.
"We won't be able to start building the new chemistry building or really do anything," he said.
During a committee meeting the Florida Boots to Books Initiative was also addressed. This GI Bill, which was passed in the 2008 Congress and will take effect August 2009, provides for full tuition, housing and a $1,000 stipend for books to returning veterans who are heading to college.
The board plans to prepare schools for the provisions of the new bill, ensuring campuses are ready for the influx of new students, said Ann Duncan, student affairs and campus life committee chairwoman.
