The University may have dodged midyear budget cuts from the Louisiana State Legislature for the first time in five years.
Today’s Revenue Estimating Conference meeting will appraise the state’s revenue outlook and determine if higher education will once again be subject to cuts, said Charley Rome, fiscal analyst in the Legislative Fiscal Office.
Rome said the University is currently uncertain if midyear cuts will occur this year, but Jason Droddy, the University’s director of external affairs, said the REC meeting occurring later than usual is a sign there will be no cuts and there is no current indication of midyear reductions.
Midyear cuts are typically announced in December, but 2013 has come and gone without news of a cut, and University administrators said there are no signs the University will receive them this year.
Droddy said the budget and revenue are separate items, although they are still related.
“Typically if there is a lower revenue, the governor has a plan after,” Droddy said.
Acting Executive Director of the Office of Budget and Planning Tommy Smith said in an email that the University will use the operating budget for this year until it receives official word on cuts.
When midyear cuts are made, University administration must change the budget.
Because the cuts have been a part of the University budget for almost six years, many changes to accommodate them have become permanent.
In 2012, for example, the University took a $3.4 million midyear budget cut offset with an increase in tuition and fees.
After the 2011 midyear cut, Robert Kuhn, vice provost and associate vice chancellor and interim CFO, told The Daily Reveille the budget acts as a commitment of available resources.
“When you have a midyear cut, you’re breaking or violating this commitment,” Kuhn said.
Former Chancellor Michael Martin said in a 2011 news release that the cuts for that year were spread throughout various departments so no department would be hit too harshly.
“The cuts reflect a reduction in services throughout numerous departments at LSU and the loss of positions that are important to the service of our students,” Martin said in the news release.
To work with midyear cuts in 2010, the University used funds from tuition and fees originally planned to reduce class sizes, increase classroom support and provide counseling and tutoring hours for students.
Droddy said if cuts are announced for this year, the University will determine what steps to take next once the governor releases an action plan to deal with the cuts.
“Typically if there is a lower revenue, the governor has a plan after.”