Update: FAMU OKs budget; layoffs pending - Angeline J. Taylor, Tallahassee Democrat

That was the message from Florida A&M administrators Wednesday when trustees approved a $16.2 million reduction to the university’s 2009-2010 operating budget — another sign of the state’s dismal economy. Chief Financial Officer Teresa Hardee told trustees that the goal in the past has been to protect academic programs and to safeguard jobs. But that was before FAMU’s deepening financial cuts worth $16.7 million from 2007-2009. “With these additional cuts, we can not continue to protect all of our employees,” FAMU President James Ammons said.