By Thomas Lynn
In the wake of last month’s audit report, Daytona State College is cleaning house and tightening belts in all departments. And it seems to be working.
With collected revenue of $61 million this year and a total expenditure of $54 million, Denis Micare, Vice President for Finance, says that things are looking optimistic. Significant adjustments to spending have been made since last month and faculty across the college have become increasingly aware of all expenses because of the decrease in enrollment.
The board expressed surprise when Micare announced an increase in revenue, but he explained that was due to these adjustments and the beginning of term B. Even with the higher numbers, the College is required, by mandate, to have 5 percent in contingencies or backup funds. On top of that, $5.4 million has been added, according to Board Chairman Denis Lewis, to remain fiscally responsible and in case of any emergencies.
The Board has reasons to be cautious about money. A proposal was brought to it in February to begin work and improvement on DSC’s Master Plan, an update that is done every five years. Steve Eckman, Director of the Facility Planning Department, presented extensive changes and renovations that would take place to all six campuses over a period of 20 years.
For a visual of how large of an undertaking this project truly is, the Master Plan projects — when all is said and done — an estimated cost of $600 million. The goal seems rather impractical since in recent years the Facility Planning Department has only received, at most, $15 million from state and College funding.
“It’s going to depend on funding and it’s going to depend on enrollment,” said Eckman.
There’s no question that the school could use a major refurbishing, with buildings on the Daytona campus stretching 30 years old and a lack of parking, according to the Master Plan led by HuntunBrady an Orlando architectural firm. The architects seem determined for “out with the old and in with the new.” And so does DSC President Carol Eaton.
“Instead of having a golden shovel, which is what a lot of presidents want to have when they build things,” said Eaton, referring to the new constructions set to take place, “I want a golden sledgehammer.”
Working on the momentum of out with the old, Eaton pronounced that there is a new verbal contract with Mike Curb, a Nashville music-entrepreneur. Curb gave property to the college in return for naming rights for a DSC building. Since delays go back as far as 2008, he is now agreeing to accept the property back and donate instead $100,000 a year, for five years, in exchange for the retention of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Music and Science.
The board looked relieved to be released from this debilitating ordeal, but it opened up a can of worms on the Board of Trustees naming rights policy — or lack of one. The college was drawn into the arrangement by past president Kent Sharples, who met up with Curb and made the agreement without Board approval. In complete contrast, the expected written agreement between Eaton and Curb will be presented Dec. 8 at the next Board meeting. “It will be in writing, next time,” Eaton promised the Board.
At the end of the meeting, staff and faculty stood to give their gratitude to the Board for an increase in salary. Two years overdue, the 3.5 percent increase will take $2 million from the unrestricted budget.
“It’s important,” said Chairman Lewis, “that we increase our salary so that we can retain our professors, so that we can continue to attract people… after all, we have great professors.”