Florida's $5.4 billion budget hole brought on by COVID-19 could force deep cuts to public universities' budgets

FAMU, and Florida’s other public universities, are headed for a financial cliff, and it's anybody's guess how far they will fall. Most are already reeling after losing millions of dollars in revenue and eating the costs of shutting down campuses and moving classes online in the spring. Faced with what experts have deemed an unprecedented budgetary crisis, the loss of revenue from fall sports, they're tightening their belts and enforcing hiring freezes, salary reductions, and layoffs. If enrollment projections aren’t met, or the pandemic lingers, struggling academic departments and programs may face elimination. 

With the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic blowing an $5.4 billion hole in the state budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis is delaying the evitable  and will have to call state legislators back to dramatically re-tool this year’s $92.2 billion state spending plan.

Already, FAMU Trustees have shaved $4 million dollars off the university's 2020 operating budget by approving a $374.1 million budget last week, down from $378.5 million in 2019. 

Florida's economy is heavily reliant on tourism and the coronavirus pandemic has frozen the tourism industry and cratered state tax collections.  State economists expect the downturn to effect the state for years to come.