During the strategic discussion before the UF Board of Trustees meeting Friday, UF President Bernie Machen broke down UF's budget to show where Gov. Charlie Crist's required statewide budget cuts would be made.
Because of a tax revenue shortage, Crist proposed that every state university cut 4 percent from its budget. For UF, that's about ,26.9 million from a total ,4.377 billion budget.
Almost half of UF's total budget, about ,2.1 billion, goes to Shands at UF and faculty practice plans, Machen said. About ,37 million of that money is not used for patient care, but research and educational activities.
Student financial aid, which doesn't include Bright Futures, accounts for ,336 million.
Student activities, which Machen jokingly referred to as Student Body President Ryan Moseley's "private pot," takes about another ,16.3 milion. About three-fourths of that sum, about ,12.6 million, goes toward student organizations, Rec Sports and maintaining the Reitz Union. The rest is for on-campus transportaion.
Housing takes another ,39.1 million from the budget. Machen said UF is probably not charging students the full cost of housing, which could be a potential source of income for UF. Patricia Telles-Irvin, UF vice president for student affairs, added that UF recently spent ,8 million to refurbish several dorms.
Machen said UF's Student Health Care Center is the most expensive one in the state, accounting for ,15.2 million.
Transportation and parking, including parking garages - which cannot be funded by the state, uses ,16.3 million.
One area that needs extra help is UF's telecommunication, Machen said. It has only been alotted ,5.5 million.
Sources of revenue offer some solace, he added. He estimated that contracts, grants and donations will bring in about ,539.9 million to UF. Much of that money will fund research and graduate students' tuition.
UF invests some of this money, which adds up to about ,12.6 million, Machen said.
As for where UF would be trimming the fat, Machen listed it out in detail.
The 4 percent across-the-board cut mandated by Crist would yeild a total budget reduction of ,26.9 million. UF also cut extra money from the budget to fund several UF programs. After the cuts UF will spend ,1.3 million for faculty raises, ,3 million for the Florida Opportunity Scholars program, ,1.7 million for utility expenses and ,1.1 million for graduate student health care.
The total cuts will be about ,34 million.
"We believe this is a realistic number," Machen said. "I don't think you need to worry that we're going to offer up more than we have to."
