Louisiana’s gubernatorial election is Saturday, and it’s time you children start paying attention because our next governor can change higher education and financial aid.
TOPS, Louisiana’s merit-based aid, will cost Louisiana almost $300 million by the 2018-19 school year if nothing changes. Because Gov. Bobby Jindal’s quest for the White House overshadowed his obligation to govern, the challenge of sustaining TOPS and higher education will go to the next governor.
The most popular candidates have something to say about TOPS, but none are offering the reforms needed to sustain one of the best college aid programs in the country.
Still, some plans aren’t as bad as others, so let’s delve into options.
Jay Dardenne and John Bel Edwards want to make the same changes to TOPS — to cap the award so it won’t increase with tuition.
As long as tuition doesn’t increase, this plan shouldn’t be a problem. However, given the state’s — and nation’s — trend of increasing tuition every year, students shouldn’t trust these candidates on their words alone.
Louisiana’s lawmakers showed they’re willing to cap TOPS when they overwhelmingly voted to do so this spring. Had it not been for Jindal’s veto, we would’ve all seen less financial aid this year. I have yet to see a majority of lawmakers willing to increase higher education funding. Our next governor shouldn’t leave students at the mercy of politics.
Dardenne and Edwards also want to increase state higher education funding. Students currently fund about 75 percent of higher education, while the state funds about 25 percent. Both candidates want to increase state funding to about 50 percent. Edwards wants to increase this funding by 2016, while Dardenne wants to do this at a slower pace.
Scott Angelle is taking Jindal’s approach. He wouldn’t cap TOPS, but he also hasn’t indicated he’ll restore higher education’s funding. He instead wants to cap tax rebates and credits. Specifically, he wants to cap the movie tax credit.
We can’t refuse to change TOPS. It’s irresponsible governance. Sure, we might have funding for this program, but what’s Angelle going to do about TOPS’ runaway money problem?
Louisiana Budget Project found about 13 percent of students lose their TOPS award each year because of poor grades or dropping below full-time status. Millions of dollars go down the drain each year, meaning Louisiana loses its return on investment.
David Vitter’s plan for sustaining TOPS is vague at best. His campaign website suggests he’s open to reforms for our program, but he doesn’t get more specific.
Regardless, he’s no champion for students. He has a record of voting to decrease federal aid for students and schools in the Senate. It’s hard to trust a man with a record of hurting students.
Interestingly, none of our candidates seem to care about low-income students because they’ve all been nearly silent on Go Grants, Louisiana’s need-based financial aid. Go Grants fill the gap between a student’s financial aid and cost of attendance. At most, the candidates mention Go Grants offhandedly instead of making it a focal issue.
Students get a maximum of $3,000 a year for Go Grants regardless of a school’s cost of attendance, meaning students receiving this need-based grant can still be underfunded for school.
Our next governor needs to use Go Grants to completely close the cost of attendance gap and reform TOPS to still fund education while also making students more accountable for their education.
I won’t tell you who to vote for, but I will tell you to research the candidates and vote for someone. Your financial aid is on the line. Voting is Saturday, Oct. 24. If you’re not registered to vote, you can still register for the inevitable runoff election.
Cody Sibley is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Opelousas, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter at @CodySibley.