Florida Education Budget Cuts Still Loom

MIAMI -- The Board of Trustees at Florida International University agreed upon measures to cut 25 programs - majors included - as well as lay off over 200 employees.

On June 12, a number of degrees including dance, engineering and speech pathology were eliminated and will no longer be included within FIU's roster of programs in three years.

As admission freezes and tuition hikes surge through the Sunshine State, Florida students attending FIU now have something else to worry about.

I have never seen anything like this.

Granted, I'm only a junior. I will be attending FIU in the upcoming fall, still pursuing my degree in English. But I have already felt the pressures of these budget cuts first-hand.

No Summer Fun

One of FIU's major graduation requirements includes taking courses over the summer in order to utilize the University's facilities during downtime. There are two six-week semesters during the summer months, Summers A and B. Put these two semesters together and you'll get Summer C, a period where classes are held for 12 weeks.

When course codes were released for the summer, I definitely wanted to take Summer B courses. I spoke with one of my professors who told me he would be teaching at least three courses during Summer B.

A few weeks before our final exam he told us, "I'm afraid I'll only be teaching one class, and that's during Summer A."

He told us about how Summer B classes had to be cut. These courses were either put into Summer A or eliminated until the fall (with fingers crossed).
When I searched for the courses online, I definitely noted some classes I had picked out were either gone or moved to Summer A.

Inconvenience? Slightly. I was able to take two courses during the first six-week period, but I certainly had to compromise my schedule.

Everybody Hurts

I have talked with many concerned professors (including the one mentioned above) about this financial crisis. All of them shake their heads and sigh, "I know, it's terrible."

Even though the FIU College of Arts and Sciences will receive a small amount of cuts (compared to the College of Engineering and School of Journalism and Mass Communication), I already knew that everyone was going to suffer. Cuts were going to be made, as the administration noted, "all across the board."

Ironically enough, the College of Education was one of the schools hit the hardest by these budget cuts. Despite the thousands of educators the CoE creates for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, measures were taken to eliminate education degrees in English, mathematics, science, social sciences and music.

Ben Badger Jr., formerly an English education major, was devastated by the cuts.

"The situation was so bad that I abandoned my degree program," Badger said. "It is not worth investing in something as important as a degree in English education if in three years it will no longer exist."

Badger now has to compromise his degree. Instead of majoring in English education, he will now major in English and minor in education. Even though this compromise is far from fair, he is still concerned about his future in the job sector.

"My future employers will not think budget cuts when they learn the degree was gotten rid of, they will think the degree program was lacking and by extension that I am lacking," he said.

Higher Powers

Because FIU is a state-funded university, it can only adhere to budget proposals made by the State Legislature approved by the governor - in this case, Republican Charlie Crist.

Florida committees have recommended over $300 million in cuts. According to The Orlando Sentinel, that means $310 will be cut for every student in Florida's public education system. On top of this over 2,000 teaching positions will be eliminated - and that's with only 58 out of 67 school districts reporting.

What is going on?

Florida ranks near the bottom regarding high school graduation rates. The state is seeing the worst budget cuts in its history - and that includes everyone, not just college students like me. My brother will be a high school junior next year and I have no idea what's in store for him when he graduates in 2010. What will he face when he begins filling out college applications?

These concerns, I'm sure, are plaguing the minds of many educators and parents. But something can still be done.

Act Now (or Forever Hold Your Peace)

This is an election year. Research your candidates well and see what views they hold regarding public education. Become informed about what they want to do for education budgets if they come to power.

Write letters to your representatives in the State Legislature and Congress. Let them know that you know what's going on and that you won't stand for it. Handwrite these letters; typed ones are cold and cookie-cutter, and they won't leave as much of a personal impact.

Finally, support your school however you can, even if it means little donations (or collecting box tops). Office Depot features a program that allows you to give 5% of your school supply purchase to a school of your choice.

You may not be able to change the budget yourself, but you can at least show that you see what's happening - and that you don't like it.

Because chances are, you're not the only one in trouble.