Costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to be about $1.3 million in the 2021 fiscal year, State University of New York at Fredonia officials noted. P-J file photo

The State University of New York at Fredonia is anticipating roughly a $1.9 million loss in the 2020-21 fiscal year, mostly due to additional costs of COVID-19. Costs of the virus between testing, cleaning and personal protection equipment is estimated to be about $1.3 million.

“Thanks to academic affairs we were able to obtain the enrollment numbers we had predicted back in the fall, so we’re looking at being about $900,000 better than we had predicted. Predominantly it’s on the tuition level,” Vice President of Finance and Administration Michael Metzger said at the College Council meeting last week. “Our state support has been reduced for the last two years by 25%. It hasn’t been confirmed, but I have that in the forecast.”

The college is anticipating about $5 million from the first stimulus package for COVID-19, but the money hasn’t been awarded to the state yet. According to Metzger, half will go to fund student support and half will go for campus support. The college is also hoping to receive more money from the new federal stimulus package as well.

“We’re very hopeful because of the size of the package and the support hopefully coming to New York,” Metzger added. “Our state senators have been extremely helpful in advocating as have our legislature and our state senators, congressmen, everyone’s been great in advocating.”

COVID-19 cost the campus roughly $500,000 in the fall and additional $700,000 in the spring.

“The total reason for the increase was our testing numbers have increased and each test costs so much, so we’re anticipating $700,000.,” Metzger stated. “Which is a total of about $1.2 to $1.3 million for the fiscal year of 2021. Without that number we would be in a much better financial position.”

Some areas that the college is looking to increase revenues include the federal stimulus packages, increased enrollment, shared services with other SUNY campuses and alternate revenue sources.

“We currently signed an agreement with four others to look into shared services, they are Brockport, Alfred, Genesseo and Buff State,” Metzger shared. “As for other alternative sources that could be anything from winter and summer programming.”