The House Education Committee reviewed and failed to pass House Bill 996 by an 8-8 vote. HB 996’s goal was to abolish the Board of Regents, LSU Board, Southern University Board and the University of Louisiana Board. It would have established the Louisiana University System Board of Trustees to oversee all public, four-year higher education institutions in the state. Speaker of the House Jim Tucker authored the bill and said its purpose was to increase board members’ accountability. “I think it is a huge step in the right direction for moving the state forward,” Tucker said. “The accountability issues are what the people are looking for from us, and that’s what we should be looking for from higher education.”Tucker also said Louisiana spends three times as much money as the Southern average spent on administration at the management level. The consolidation of the boards into one board would save the state as much as $5 million, Tucker said. “Turf wars” between the existing boards create problems and a lack of accountability, Tucker said. The committee debated HB 996 for two hours, and several prominent figures in Louisiana higher education testified, including Commissioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen. Clausen said the “turf wars” Tucker mentioned are natural disagreements. The Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Committee voted 5-4 on a recommendation to consolidate the management boards. Clausen said the four members who voted against the recommendation were from out of state. Clausen read excerpts from a letter they wrote, which said, “Louisiana has begun to make extraordinary strides in the performance-based funding model.”The letter said Louisiana has done well opening doors to access and avoiding distractions over a change on governance. LSU Systems President John Lombardi and Chancellor Michael Martin testified before the committee. Martin said he doesn’t have an opinion on the bill, but the University “has progressed enormously over the last five years,” and “the system is working.”
 
 
 
—-Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]