The University released its plan to reduce about $19 million from its operating budget this afternoon. The budget — still called a “work-in-progress” as officials wait to receive more detailed information from individual campus units — was sent to the LSU System Wednesday for review. The cuts in funding are a result of declining state revenue and the national recession.The University’s proposed plan includes cutting the budget of academic units by an average of 3 percent and the budgets of non-academic units by an average of 5 percent. A 52-hour furlough — unpaid time off — will also go into effect for classified and professional staff, effectively cutting their salaries by an average of 3 percent.Classified staff includes civil service employees, and professional staff includes non-faculty administrative employees. In response to budget constraints, the University will also not offer merit pay increases to employees and will slash funding for ancillary programs like LSU Press. Tuition will be raised by 5 percent and other fee increases are expected as well. To see the LSU System budget cut plan, click here.
 
 
 
 
—–Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]