The governing board for Louisiana’s public colleges and universities announced finalized budget cut amounts for the state’s college systems Tuesday.The LSU System is set to take a state funding cut of about $56 million for the fiscal year that started Wednesday, according to the Louisiana Board of Regents.After certain appropriations are added in — like $2 million for the AgCenter and federal stimulus dollars — the cuts will be reduced to about $52 million. How the cuts will affect the LSU System remains to be seen, but some job loss is expected.The LSU System’s main campus in Baton Rouge is set to take a cut of about $19 million — which includes the $10 million mid-year budget cut the Governor’s Office ordered in January. LSU System officials were originally told to prepare for $102 million in cuts. That number was based on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s original proposed state operating budget, in which he had higher education taking a $219 million cut to help make up for a significant drop in state revenue this year.Lawmakers reduced the proposed higher education cuts to their current level — about $120 million — by using money from the state’s rainy day fund along with money from other accounts.—-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]
System to trim more than $50 million in cuts
July 1, 2009