College buildings around the state of Florida need repairs while plans for other projects sit in the wings, and a state task force is now designated to figure out where the money for the buildings will come from. The Florida Board of Governors' Task Force on Facilities Funding finished a two day meeting yesterday. University of Florida Chief Financial Officer Matt Fajack says the group has to make up a projected shortfall of Public Education Capital Outlay, or PECO money.
He says state projects normally receive anywhere between $100 million and $350 million, but that funding has been significantly drawn back this year because Florida is not growing and residents are switching away from landline phones, which were formerly taxed for the fund. Fajack says, without the funding, there will be no new construction projects on campus, and buildings which need to be renovated or remodeled will be left as is.
The task force members will now work on finding alternatives to PECO before meeting again in mid-June. Fajack says members plan to put a proposal before the Board of Governors by late September or early October.