Eduardo J. Padrón
President
Office of the President
300 N.E. Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132-2297
305-237-3316
epadron@mdc.edu
Message From the President
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Report on the budget
For those who closely followed the various reports chronicling the budget discussions, the state began the 2009 legislative session with a deficit of more than $5 billion. Federal stimulus dollars were used to compensate for some of the loss in funding for education and other areas. However, 11 percent of the current budget consists of non-recurring funds. For operations that recur year after year, this is a non-dependable source of funding, and has a serious impact on the College.
Since 2007, Miami Dade College has lost more than $21 million in base funding, a reduction of 11.3 percent. No matching program funds have been provided for scholarships, programs or facilities, representing a match loss of $27 million.
The steep increases in enrollment growth – more than 34,000 students – have not been funded at all. That translates into another $39-million loss in revenues to cover the cost of instruction for those students. While tuition will increase by 8 percent this year, this will only cover one-third of the full cost of instruction.
The passage of the local option bill would have helped alleviate much of the College's economic hardship. Now that we are facing this budget crisis without the opportunity to reach out to the local community for support, we have cause for serious reflection on how to proceed with the College's mission.
In the coming days, the College will have to make some difficult choices. We are reviewing all possible approaches in an attempt to maintain the stability of the institution and our personnel and will keep you apprised as more information becomes available.
I want to express my deep appreciation to those of you who responded to my request for ideas and approaches to economize and make our operations more efficient. Many of these ideas will be implemented as part of our overall approach.
Thank you.
Eduardo