Some students are fretting about the grim possibilities a large-scale budget reduction could bring next year — like larger class sizes, higher student fees and the elimination of several scholarships. The University submitted on April 2 its 2009-10 budget draft to the LSU System for review, showing where the expected $50 million reduction in state funding would fall. Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed state spending budget has higher education taking a $219 million reduction, on top of the now permanent $55 million mid-year cut, to help make up for slacking state revenue. “This whole economy thing is sad and scary,” said Allyson Bombet, secondary education junior. “It’s sad that it affects our education — that should be the last thing that it affects. If we had better educated people, maybe this wouldn’t happen.” Bombet said she fears the resulting larger class sizes and expected dip in course offerings will deter prospective students from attending the University and put an enormous amount of pressure on current students. “We have pretty large class sizes as it is,” Bombet said. “[And] the whole point of going to a big university is to have options.”The budget is the first draft of what will eventually be presented to the House Appropriations Committee on April 21. According to the budget draft, layoffs and elimination of vacant faculty and staff positions at the University would total nearly 400. The Bengal Legacy Scholarships for Non-Resident Sons and Daughters of LSU Graduates, the Board of Supervisors scholarships and the Louisiana Freshman Merit Award would be eliminated to help cushion the blow of the cuts. A 2 percent increase in auxiliary enterprise surcharges will cause student fees for Residential Housing, the Student Health Center, Student Union and the Office Parking, Traffic & Transportation to increase. Chancellor Michael Martin said the proposed cuts would set the University back decades. He said he’s hopeful this budget draft will show legislators and other decision-makers how serious the cuts would be for the University, without sending students, faculty and staff into a panic. “This won’t be minor,” Martin told The Daily Reveille on April 2. “Anyone who has been in higher education as long as me will know that contrary to what people might say, there is no fat [to cut] at LSU.” A recent study conducted by economics professor and director of the LSU Division of Economic Development Dek Terrell shows just how major the cuts could be. The study shows how the large budget cuts expected for higher education next year will do more than just damage the University — they’ll negatively impact the entire city of Baton Rouge.Entitled “The Economic Impact of Louisiana State University on the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area,” the study found the University pumps more than $1.2 billion into the Baton Rouge economy annually. “This study shows that the state’s proposed budget cuts aimed at LSU are not just detrimental to the quality of education we provide, but are basically an anti-stimulus package for the Baton Rouge area and beyond,” Chancellor Michael Martin said in an April 8 University news release. The University accumulated 3 percent of gross domestic product for the metro area in fiscal year 2008 and generated an estimated 21,118 jobs in 2007, according to the study. “The state’s flagship university generates jobs and paychecks that not only sustain and expand a significant portion of Louisiana’s economy but also enhance our quality of life,” Martin said. In March, LSU System President John Lombardi told System chancellors in an e-mail the System will seek a 5 percent tuition increase if faced with about $100 million in cuts for the entire system, as authorized by the Legislature last year. Lombardi said Jindal’s budget will include funding for the TOPS costs associated with the increase.”I pay my tuition myself,” said Michael Gilcrease, international studies junior. “[The increase] is probably going to cause me to cut back on the number of classes I take and cause me to stay here longer. And I’m old enough already.”Gilcrease is 60 years old and is taking 12 hours this semester. “It’s tough enough to get the classes you need now,” he said. Other students, like history sophomore Elizabeth Talbot, said larger class sizes don’t bother them, but an increase in tuition would put financial strain on their families. “I would hate to put the pressure on [my parents],” Talbot said. “And I want to go to grad school.” Talbot said she understands the state is going through tough economic times, and harsh economic decisions will have to be made. “They have to do what they have to do,” Talbot said.Historically, Louisiana’s constitution has left health care and higher education budgets the most vulnerable in tough economic times because more than half of the state’s budget is considered nondiscretionary and can’t be cut by lawmakers.However, Jindal is supporting Senate President Joel Chaisson’s Senate Bills 1 and 2 that would allow up to 10 percent to be cut from the nondiscretionary funds, rather than the current 5 percent. This will ultimately leave colleges and hospitals better off, Jindal said. If passed, the bills wouldn’t go into affect until fiscal year 2010-11. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]
Students concerned about possible budget cuts
April 13, 2009