HIGHER ED CONCERNS-After escaping budget cuts for the first time in nearly a decade, Louisiana's public college leaders asked lawmakers Tuesday to keep them from the chopping block next year and preserve the financing they say is needed to recruit faculty and students. LSU System President F. King Alexander told the House Appropriations Committee that he wasn't asking for additional money in the financial year that begins July 1 beyond what the system received this year. But he said reductions could upend progress.
"That's what's at stake for us right now, because we're on offense. We just hired the best faculty cohort we've ever hired since I've been here. " explained Alexander. "And we're bringing people back to the state and we're doing everything we can to bring students into the state and keep our students here. That's what this is about and we're not asking for any money, just give us stability."
Louisiana faces an estimated $700 million budget shortfall in the upcoming year, tied to the expiration of temporary taxes. Efforts to pass replacement taxes failed earlier this year, though lawmakers are expected to consider taxes again in another special session that could start around mid-May.
State financing for higher education has been cut by about $750 million since 2008, according to data presented to the Appropriations Committee. Even with tuition and fee hikes aimed at replacing some of the lost money, colleges still receive more than $300 million less for operations than they did a decade ago.
