Santa Fe College today announced its proposed $68 million budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year in a college-wide budget meeting. The budget is subject to final approval by the Santa Fe College Board of Trustees Tuesday, June 15.
“This institution is in a sound financial shape thanks to the excellent financial management of Ms. Ginger Gibson and her staff,” said President Jackson Sasser, as he led an auditorium packed with faculty and staff through a lengthy PowerPoint presentation. “Our priority is always to maintain open access and to continue to offer an excellent education.”
Sasser thanked staff for their hard work in covering open positions and enduring two years without a pay increase, although all full-time faculty and staff received a $1,000 one-time salary supplement in FY 2008-09 and 2009-10.
All full-time staff and faculty are receiving a $1,000 raise to their base pay and a 5 percent pay increase.
Santa Fe has not laid off a single employee for financial reasons during the recession. Instead, the college instituted a non-essential hiring freeze in 2007 that continues to this day.
Sasser said an employee asked, “Can the college afford this?” and he assured the audience that it could. Even considering the potential impact on the state budget of the BP oil spill, hurricanes, and the economic recession, Santa Fe has managed its finances so conservatively that the college should be in good shape.
“A good institution of high ed becomes better when its employees commit at an even higher level in times of financial difficulty,” Sasser said in an interview after his presentation. “My colleagues at Santa Fe College have been exemplars of this practice over the last two years. I’m pleased to recommend financial support for our employees for the upcoming fiscal year.”
Among the budget highlights:
- The recurring state revenue portion of Santa Fe’s operating budget increased $1,936,491 million over last year. (The 2009-2010 budget saw a $3,431,893 decrease in state revenue.)
- The college was authorized to increase tuition by up to 13.5 percent, but has chosen to increase tuition 6.84 percent. That translates to a $171.60 increase for a 30-credit year.
- The college’s total recurring operating budget is $68,553,339 for 2010-2011, an 8.54 increase.
- Full-time faculty and staff will receive a $1,000 increase on their base salary plus a 5 percent increase.
- Part-time pay for adjunct faculty will increase 5 percent with fall appointments. Adjunct pay for a 3-credit course will rise from $1,860 to $1,953.
BAS Programs
The college will add another new BAS program in the 2010-2011 year. It expects to enroll up to 25 students in the new BAS Early Childhood Education with new courses beginning in spring 2011. Other BAS programs under consideration include Public Safety/Public Service Management; Supervision and Organizational Management; and Nursing.
Employee Stats
Santa Fe has a total of 1,348 employees; 726 are full time (237 are faculty and 489 are staff). The college employs 619 part-time employees; of those, 313 are adjunct faculty (that number changes depending on the term).
Detailed Budget Information Online
Budget Information webpage
http://www.sfcollege.edu/finance/index.php?section=budget/budget_information
PowerPoint Budget Presentation from June 14 college-wide budget meeting
http://dept.sfcollege.edu/finance/content/BUDGET/FINALBudgetPresentationEmployees20102011.pdf
CONTACT:
- Ginger Gibson, Vice President for Administrative Affairs, CFO, 352-395-5208 or ginger.gibson@scollege.edu
- President Jackson Sasser is available for interviews. Please call his secretary, Tina Crosby, to schedule: 352-395-5164.
- For assistance facilitating your story, Julie Garrett, media relations coordinator, 352-395-5430 (office) or 352-870-2924 (cell) or julie.garrett@sfcollege.edu.