By Lynn Hatter
Tallahassee, FL – State Universities are facing the loss of millions of dollars in stimulus money, and under Governor Rick Scott's budget proposal, no tuition increase. The state is facing a 3.6-billion dollar shortfall, and as Lynn Hatter reports, the financial strain has lawmakers telling the state's higher education institutions to plan for a 15-percent budget reduction. For the universities, that means layoffs.
Universities say they can't cut anymore. During a House Higher Education committee, the president's of three of Florida's 11 public universities outlined what a 15-percent cut would mean for them. The smallest of the state's public schools is New College of Florida. It's a liberal arts college with 800 students, its president Gordon Michaelson says a ten percent cut means furloughs, and 15 percent means salary reductions.
"I can't even imagine how the negotiations with the bargaining units go with respect to that move but we would certainly have to negotiate those."
A big consequence of budget cuts is the loss of faculty. In order to make those kinds of cuts, schools look at under performing programs, but many have run into a problem with tenured professors who teach those courses. Florida State University President Eric Barron knows first-hand how hard it is to cut tenured faculty members.
"Our union contracts says we must eliminate un-tenured faculty before we can look at tenured faculty. The arbitrator has said not a program, not a trim, not based on productivity, but a whole department."
The University of West Florida would face a similar situation under a 15-percent budget cut scenario. University President Judy Bense says she'll eliminate entire programs to achieve the cost savings and if she has to, cut tenured faculty members.
"What we will have to do is close departments. What Florida State tried to do is close programs within departments and the union won't let you do that. But if you close say the department of English, the department of foreign language, the department of geology, you can let go of tenured faculty. You have to make a bigger cut."
Universities don't want to get rid of their faculty, especially those who bring millions of dollars worth of research and grant money with them. But under the current climate, few schools have been able to give out bonuses, and teachers have been recruited to other institutions outside the state - taking their research and their money with them. One example is Florida State University's College of Business, which University President Eric Barron says lost 12 faculty members last year.
"I know the offers from nine of those universities. For those nine individuals, those salary offers were 627-thousand dollars above what Florida state pays. On average, my business faculty was being recruited with 70-thousand dollar raises to other institutions."
The loss of faculty means higher class sizes, fewer course offerings and a longer time until graduation. If too many faculty are cut, it could also jeopardize a schools' accreditation. But much of the money that goes to universities goes to salaries, with faculty drawing the largest portion.