Today Governor DeSantis released his budget proposal. Despite a forecasted $842M budget surplus in the state, the proposed budget increases funding by just 4% for the college system and less than 1% for the university system. This leaves it far short of the budget requested by the chronically underfunded college system. Moreover, the proposal includes a $98M cut for Medicaid, a program underpaid adjunct professors often look to for support. Below you will find a statement from SEIU Faculty Forward member and USF adjunct professor, Jarad Fennell:
“At a time when students are literally relying on food banks to eat so they can cover the costs of studying and professors can’t afford desperately needed medical treatment because of low wages, the marginal funding increases proposed in today’s budget fall far short of what is needed. That’s why faculty across the state are coming together to demand that this budget invest in our colleges and universities. We can and must do better for our students.”
