DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an increase in funding for historically black colleges and universities for the upcoming fiscal year. The universities will receive the $20 million in funding as part of a $93.2 billion budget that DeSantis signed Monday.
The announcement was made around 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Michael and Libby Johnson Center for Community Engagement at Bethune-Cookman University.
The private university received $17 million in recurring funding for the university, as part of the state's budget.
"I believe what we did with HBCUs this year was really significant," DeSantis said. "These HBCUs are an intricate part of the state of Florida's history."
During the Wednesday news conference, DeSantis briefly answered questions about the upcoming holiday weekend amid the coronavirus pandemic. He talked about the expected increase in people outside and on beaches celebrating the Fourth of July.
"Doing things outdoors in Florida is less risky than indoors," DeSantis said. "The virus does not like sunshine, heat and humidity."