The Louisiana Board of Regents unanimously allocated $725,000 in state funds to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine for several renovation projects during its Wednesday meeting.
The school will use $330,000 to revamp its Exotics and Wildlife Clinic, $175,000 to renovate its Anatomy Lab and $220,000 to replace an air conditioning unit.
The Board also voted to include a performance-based funding formula in the Master Plan for Postsecondary Education in Louisiana: 2011.
The Louisiana Constitution requires the plan to include “a formula for the equitable distribution of funds to the institutions of postsecondary education.” The formula was under review when the Board officially revised the plan in March. 
The Board also heard from a committee regarding the current legislative session.
Commissioner for Higher Education Jim Purcell said it’s important for the Board to be informed of the decisions being made.
“These are the things that are coming for us in the next few months,” he said. “It’s important for us to look at those conversations and help our institutions improve.”
Purcell also suggested creating a fiscal watch program to help university systems intervene quickly if their institutions get into financial trouble.
“How do we know they’re in trouble before they’re in trouble?” he said. “The plan is to engage the systems that help the institutions to get things done quickly.”
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]