Budget Cuts Cast Shadow over Florida's Universities

Autor/in	Fain, Paul
Titel	Budget Cuts Cast Shadow over Florida's Universities
Quelle	In: Chronicle of Higher Education, 55 (2009) 38, (1 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0009-5982
Schlagwörter	Taxes; Income; Real Estate; Educational Finance; State Government; Tuition; Budgeting; Retrenchment; State Universities; Tourism; Teacher Salaries; Financial Problems; Florida + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Abgabe; Einkommen; Grundstück; Bildungsfonds; Bund-Länder-Beziehung; Unterweisung; Unterricht; Staatliche Universität; Tourismus; Lehrerbesoldung; Lehrervergütung
Abstract	While colleges across the nation are coping with the recession, public universities in Florida, a state with finances that resemble a Ponzi scheme, have spent years doing without. The recession hit Florida early, and in a big way. Without an income tax, state government has long depended on property and sales taxes. As real estate and tourism have declined, the state's annual revenue has shed more than $12-billion from a 2006 peak of $74-billion. But Florida's conservative politicians have remained steadfast in refusing new taxes. They also fought to keep the university system's tuition at rock-bottom levels. The result for the state's 11 public universities has been cutbacks in state money, which have led to gutted programs, faculty departures, low salaries for professors, and the nation's highest student-to-faculty ratio. University leaders wonder how much longer Florida's universities will have to run on fumes. The budget passed by the Legislature this month was better than many had feared. Dropped were a proposed 25-percent reduction in the state's higher-education contribution and across-the-board salary cuts for university employees. The approved reduction of 10.5 percent, or $207-million, will be partially offset by $159-million in federal stimulus money. And lawmakers finally budged on allowing tuition increases, which will bring in new revenue. But stimulus money is only a temporary fix, and economists say the state's finances remain fundamentally flawed. Barring a tax overhaul or a serious economic recovery, a few more lean years could mean a slide into mediocrity for the state's top universities. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Chronicle of Higher Education. 1255 23rd Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 800-728-2803; e-mail: circulation@chronicle.com; Web site: http://chronicle.com/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10