Governor Rick Scott signed the 2012 Florida State Budget on April 17, 2012. Included in the approved items were several Daytona State College capital projects in addition to operational and lottery funding.
The college received $7.6 million for a new classroom building on the Flagler Palm Coast campus. The News Journal Center scene building lab is funded at $2.032 million and will complete that site. Planning and partial construction funds in the amount of $2.4 million were allocated to build a new student center with classrooms on the Daytona campus. The long-planned Thermal Storage Facility funded at $3.012 million will provide energy savings for DSC in years to come. As buildings age and technology changes, the $1.8 million allocated for renovations and site improvement will help maintain our beautiful campus sites.
The college received $48.3 million in operational funds with a portion dedicated to the above-referenced capital projects. A significant increase was provided in Lottery; however, colleges often have to wait until mid-year before receiving those allocations from the state. Lottery distribution occurs after Bright Futures scholarships are funded.
Also included in the operational funds was $1 million in “recurring” funding for the UCF/DSC Joint Use Writing Center which means the college has the funding added to its base. In 2011 the funds were allocated from “non-recurring” funds and only non-recurring expenditures could be made in the center.
WDSC and other Florida public television stations received community service grants in the amount of $307,447 each while public radio stations were not funded in this year’s budget.
Even though the state economy is slowing improving and many areas of the state budget were cut, DSC successfully advocated for both its operational and capital needs. Sharon Crow, senior vice president for governmental relations, stated, “We are extremely grateful to Senator Evelyn Lynn and the rest of the Volusia/Flagler Legislative Delegation for their support of the college this year. Personally, I want to thank President Eaton and several of our District Board of Trustees for taking time from their own busy schedules to travel to Tallahassee and present our case to legislative leadership, the Governor and our entire delegation.”
