On May 8, the Florida Legislature voted to approve the state’s budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Governor Crist signed the budget on May 27.
UCF’s budget has been reduced by another $38 million of recurring dollars. The Legislature replaced some of these funds with non-recurring federal stimulus dollars, but these dollars will be discontinued in two years.
This loss of recurring state dollars will require us to move beyond the “financial belt tightening” we have performed so far and will force us to consider program eliminations and layoffs, though not of the magnitude we previously discussed when faced with a larger cut.
I am confident that with prudent management this will be a difficult but manageable challenge. We are evaluating our options based largely on the five factors I previously explained.
In the near future, we will continue to communicate about our financial situation. In the meantime, I encourage you to visit the Budget Resource Centerto provide feedback.
Two Years of Cuts
In total, UCF has had about $77 million cut from its budget since July 1, 2007. That represents a 26.6 percent cut to our state budget.
UCF Budget Cuts
| Cut to the beginning 2007-08 fiscal year budget | $13.1 million |
| Cut to the beginning 2008-09 fiscal year budget | $15.1 million |
| January 2009 budget cut | $10.7 million |
| March 2009 budget cut | $9.6 million |
| Legislature restores March 2009 cut | + $9.6 million |
| Cut to the beginning 2009-10 fiscal year budget | $38.3 million |
| Total cuts to date | $77.2 million |
Despite these cuts, we have continued to attract the best and brightest students, conduct groundbreaking research, and provide positive economic and social benefits to our community.
Though the economic decline continues to be steep, our university has remained dedicated to our primary goal: serving students. Thank you for your outstanding efforts on behalf of UCF.