Although there is no certainty of a cut, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Jane Cassidy said Wednesday the administration has already asked deans to prepare for a mid-year cut of the same magnitude as last year’s — about 4 percent of each department’s budget.
State agencies, including higher education, might take a $200 million mid-year cut if the government is forced to refill its “rainy day” fund, which was emptied to fill this year’s budget deficit.
Baton Rouge native Bob Reid and former state Rep. Ron Gomez filed suit Monday in Baton Rouge district court, claiming legislators violated the state constitution by not refilling the “rainy day” fund.
Jason Droddy, University director of external affairs, said the University is already preparing for a mid-year budget cut, and the additional loss from the lawsuit would make the cut even bigger.
Cassidy said if the additional $200 million cut materializes, deans will be responsible for finding places for the money to be cut from.
LSU System Spokesman Charles Zewe said the mid-year cuts will likely be boosted if the rainy-day funds have to be replenished.
“It’s something that’s out of our hands,” Zewe said. “It certainly will affect us and all of the state government. It’s a matter of serious concern.”
The LSU System is already projected to potentially cut $182 million without a mid-year cut. The University was originally projected to cut $62 million, but it is taking on an additional $2 million of the Pennington Biomedical Center’s cuts, bringing the LSU-Baton Rouge cut to $64 million, Zewe said.
Meg Casper, Board of Regents spokeswoman, said the Board is anticipating the additional mid-year cuts will effect higher education negatively. Casper said it is unclear if the lawsuit will be decided in time to affect mid-year cuts.
The Board of Regent’s plan for mid-year cuts is due to the    legislature Oct. 27.
 
 
 
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Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]