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TALLAHASSEE - With an estimated $270 million recently ripped from an already shrinking pot of money set aside for school construction, local colleges and universities are not optimistic that they will be able to add bricks and mortar anytime soon.
"Things are really tough right now," said Steve Wallace, president of Florida State College at Jacksonville.
State economists estimated last week that $113 million would be available for construction at institutions ranging from elementary schools to state universities. That number is $267 million less than previously estimated, due to insufficient tax revenue and previous debts. By comparison, there was $731 million in the 2009-10 state budget.
That reduced estimate means that colleges and universities must scrap earlier numbers and await even worse news.
"The original projections were dismal even before [last week's] estimating conference. ... UNF was [originally] slated to get $4.8 million in infrastructure funding ($2,827,706 plus the $1,972,294 for the current year, which the governor vetoed). This infrastructure issue would normally be a $6+ million," Janet Owen, a lobbyist for University of North Florida, wrote in an email.
She said universities will not know how much they will get until the Board of Governors gets its new official numbers - possibly at next month's meeting - and divvies up the cash.
Steven Bowers, FSCJ's vice president of administrative services, said the school will find other sources of income to make necessary, basic renovations.
"We have to," he said. "We have to run the college."
He said that the school will use reserve funds - or "rainy day money" - student fees and donor money to complete things such as roof repairs and the renovation of science labs.
"It is the rainy day," Bowers said.
FSCJ had all of its $1.8 million allocated for renovations vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott; it joined Miami-Dade College as the only institutions in the college system to receive no renovation funding.
Bowers said that the new funding estimates are bad news, but the Department of Education is aware the school needs a new injection of cash for renovations.
UNF also had its renovation funding zeroed out by Scott, as did everyone in the university system who originally received more than $1.9 million.
Scott also vetoed $165 million in new construction money last year. He approved $35 million - all for the University of South Florida's new polytechnic campus in the district of Senate budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake City.
From Matt Dixon at jacksonville.com
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-10-11/story/budget-news-isnt-good-unf-fscj#ixzz1aTmyRYC2
Yeah this is old news actually. I was quite upset when I read this a few months back
^It's looking like they're going to be cut even more than they already have been. Such is the foresight of our governor.
yeah you don't want em sitting in class when whey could be out building houses!