With lawmakers back in town, what’s on FSU, FAMU, TCC’s state budget wish list?
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With Florida’s legislative session having begun, Florida State and Florida A&M universities and Tallahassee Community College have pulled out their state budget wish lists for the next fiscal year.
In Gov. Ron DeSantis' "Focus on Florida's Future" 2024-25 budget proposal, $3.7 billion in state operating funding would go toward the State University System — which includes FSU and FAMU — while $1.7 billion in state operating funding would be going to the Florida College System, which includes TCC.
Other funds related to the colleges and universities consist of $125 million in total funding to reward nursing education programs while addressing nursing vacancies and $150 million for the recruitment and retention of college and university faculty across the state.
To be clear, state lawmakers will ultimately decide what goes into next year's budget, which takes effect July 1, with DeSantis having line-item veto power. But at the same time, FSU, FAMU and TCC all have specific legislative budget requests for their top priorities and projects.
Florida State University
FSU's legislative budget request includes $50 million to grow the university's national prominence in categories such as student success, hiring "prominent" research faculty, reducing the student-to-faculty ratio from 17-to-1 to 13-to-1, and recruiting and retaining top talent.
The request's summary says that "ongoing additional support will be required to ensure that FSU remains competitive with institutions in the top tier of national standings."
The national growth funding request consists of $21.1 million going toward top research faculty members and $2.7 million for more competitive graduate student stipends — a move that would be in favor of FSU graduate assistants who oftentimes rally on the university's campus to express their compensation grievances.
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Another $50 million is being requested to “bolster FSU Health and research operations” while the university is currently taking on an initiative to build a new FSU Health-Academic Health Center with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
During a land designation announcement in March about the future site, FSU President Richard McCullough said the construction process might take a couple of years.
While FSU is requesting over $130 million this legislative session for the current fiscal year, part of its request is shared with FAMU through their joint engineering school.
Florida A&M University
Over $13 million is being requested for the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering as it aims to become one of the top 50 engineering colleges in the nation within the next five years — an achievement that would also make it the first HBCU engineering college to achieve the distinction, according to a FAMU report.
The engineering school developed its inaugural 2023-28 strategic plan, “Engineering Our Future,” in efforts of reaching the long-term goal.
But when looking at FAMU’s 2024-25 legislative budget request summary, academic excellence as a whole is listed as the top priority.
More: Gov. DeSantis opens 2024 Legislature by calling Florida the 'envy of the nation'
The university is asking for $45.5 million in recurring funds to go toward academic excellence efforts such as earning the status of a Carnegie R1 Research Institution — while it currently holds an R2 status — and attracting and retaining high-achieving students.
FAMU’s budget request also includes $29 million to renovate its School of Business and Industry South, which is part of a four-building complex.
The five-story structure — built in 1982 and renovated in 1998 — houses classrooms, a Bloomberg laboratory, administrative offices, a television studio and the Bull & Bear Lounge.
According to the university, the building is in need of ceiling replacements, restrooms that will be compliant with ADA guidelines, and an HVAC (heating, venting and air conditioning) equipment replacement.
Another $19.1 million is being requested for a Chemical and Biological Research Laboratory Center, which would provide research and study space for students, faculty and staff who are in health-related or STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines.
Aside from the university’s requests, DeSantis’s budget proposal would provide $152 million for Florida’s HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities), where FAMU would get $110.5 million in operating funds.
More: 'Outstanding': FAMU breaks into Top 100 in U.S. News & World Report rankings
Tallahassee Community College
TCC’s priority project this fiscal year is an expansion of its Gadsden Center, where $8 million in what's called nonrecurring funds (or a one-time request) is needed for construction and healthcare laboratory costs while $600,000 in recurring funds (to be repeated in future budgets) is being requested for ongoing programming, support services and instructional costs.
“This is a really important project as our Gadsden Center is at capacity,” TCC Vice President for Communications and Chief of Staff Candice Grause said in an email to the Tallahassee Democrat. The college's Gadsden Center was established in 2016 to provide educational support services and workforce training opportunities. With the funding, the center would:
Expand its workforce training programming in HVAC.
Add new healthcare programming in its Patient Care Technician certification.
Expand its nursing assistant, phlebotomy and home health aide programs.
Expand its Eagle Connections program for students with intellectual disabilities.
Expand its General Education Development (GED) preparation and English as a Second Language (ESOL) programs.
Add additional admissions and advising support personnel.
TCC also has two capital outlay projects on the Florida Department of Education’s list of requests, according to Grause, which consists of $18.9 million to remodel some of the college’s STEM labs and $5.5 million that would go toward creating a building systems lab for TCC’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.
While TCC officials are also making moves to rename the college — which is expected to be named Tallahassee State College if the Florida Legislature votes in favor of establishing the change in state law — there is no appropriation tied to the rebranding legislation. The name change will cost TCC about $500,000 over the next two fiscal years and will be paid with funds from the college’s regular operating budget.
Related news: Florida education bills to watch: Mandatory computer classes, parents' rights and more
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 2024 Session: FSU, FAMU, TCC turn in Florida state budget requests
