Board Of Governors Seeking Solutions For Construction Funding

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State universities have seen construction funding nearly disappear.

Florida universities say declining money for construction and maintenance is possibly the biggest budgetary challenge the schools are facing.

As Florida homes have become more energy-efficient, the state is collecting less in taxes for the Public Education Capital Outlay fund that funds building projects.

The Florida Board of Governors will put together a a task force to study the issue, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Here’s the scope of the problem:

Legislators did manage to find some PECO money for universities by the end of the session — $30 million all told, and about $7 million for maintenance, but the board says it needs between $200 million and $400 million each year to maintain and modernize university buildings across the state.