The impending University budget cuts are a grim reality that has already set in for students across campus.With millions of dollars being slashed from the University’s budget and talk of faculty furloughs, tuition and fee increases all over campus, students are trying to come to grips with the reality that our education will suffer in some way.Some are protesting the way the cuts are being dealt among campuses — they argue an across-the-board method is unfair, and that the cuts should be dealt using a performance-based formula.Although this is definitely a valid argument, a larger problem lurks in the background. Statewide, higher education and health care bear an undeniably larger burden of the state budget reductions than any other area.  Of the state’s $9.7 million budget, $4.4 million is vulnerable to cuts — and most of this money goes to these two areas.This uneven distribution is rooted in the complex nature of the state’s process for allocating funds.  Certain programs have dedicated sources of funding while others have protections against being cut.The only unprotected programs are health care and higher education — and as a result, these two end up bearing a particularly nasty brunt when times get hard. But this unfair system may not exist much longer.Gov. Bobby Jindal recently announced his support for Senate Bills 1 and 2, sponsored by Senate President Joel Chaisson, D-St. Charles.  The bills would raise the cap on spending decreases for each statutory dedication from 5 to 10 percent.By allowing more funds to be cut from other parts of the budget, the bills would make possible a more even distribution of decreases and would lessen the pressure on health care and higher education.The passage of the bills will do nothing to ease budget woes in the immediate future. But if the economy doesn’t recover soon — which is entirely possible — it will prove to be a lifesaver. And if the economy ever slides again – which is almost inevitable – the reformed system will prevent the catastrophic reductions we are forced to deal with now.In short, these two bills are a step toward a seasonable, fair allocation of funds.But Chaisson and Jindal will certainly have to fight to get these bills passed. Although the bills are obviously going to have the support of representatives of health care and higher education in Louisiana, it’s important to remember the benefits to these programs come at the expense of all the other ones — which before now have faced relatively painless cuts.In short, the bills will have to be passed over the protests of constituencies — and lobbyists — with interests in all but two areas of state funding. That will be no small feat.That being said, passing the bills is not impossible.It is apparent the bills are of high importance — the president of the Senate is their sponsor. Their prominent numerical designations indicate they are at the top of the agenda — something University students should be glad to know.Further, the governor’s intervention exponentially increases the odds of their passage.Any student who cares about their education has a vested interest in the success of these commendable efforts. It’s high time our leaders recognize the folly of the current system and take steps to rectify it — for the sake of our educations and for the sake of the state as a whole.
Matthew Albright is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Baton Rouge.—-Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]