Louisiana’s finances, which Gov. John Bel Edwards already noted were in a state of disarray when he took office in January, have spiraled rapidly and unquestionably into the pits of a state recession — the likes of which many cannot recall in their lifetimes.
In recent weeks, the shortfall facing the state has grown from $750 million to upwards of $940 million in the current fiscal year, ending June 30.
If Republicans, decrying wasteful state government spending, and Democrats, calling for tax increases, can reconcile their differences and bridge the gap, they still face more than $2 billion in red ink next year.
One of the areas on the chopping block, yet again? Higher education.
The best case scenario for higher education during the current fiscal year, according to Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, is a $70 million cut. The worst case scenario is a $204 million reduction.
Part of the funding for universities at risk of being slashed next year is the much-beloved Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, which pays for the tuition of thousands of qualifying, in-state students.
Students, parents and higher education leaders found themselves confused about what would happen in the current semester to TOPS recipients when the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance announced Thursday it would immediately halt TOPS payments. That, coupled with talks of the University closing its doors after April 30, led some students to wonder if they should even bother going to class.
Jason Droddy, who serves as the University’s legislative liaison, said Friday that University administration did not know what the TOPS suspension meant for students or the University. But good news came hours later when students were told their scholarships would remain intact for the current semester. Universities, Edwards announced in a Friday statement, would be absorbing 20 percent of TOPS costs as a cut.
Since its inception, TOPS has ballooned in size, and its widespread popularity among residents has muddled policy-making rifts at the Capitol. Lawmakers who want to cut spending are forced to stare down the barrel of a massive, beloved and beleaguered government program that benefits vast numbers of families.
While the governor warned in a televised address Thursday night that the Tigers are at risk of not taking the field at Death Valley next year due to lack of funding for state colleges, University leaders are hoping, and legislators praying, students can keep going to class. But some families are left wondering how they will pay for it.
“TOPS is the most popular thing the legislature has done in my lifetime,” said then-gubernatorial candidate Republican Jay Dardenne, in a fall interview with The Daily Reveille. Following Dardenne’s eyebrow-raising public endorsement of the now-governor in the University’s Free Speech Plaza in November, Edwards appointed his one-time primary foe commissioner of administration, the chief budget architect in the state.
Freshman Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, was among the first students to ever receive TOPS in Louisiana when he studied political science at the University in the late ‘90s. He was tapped in January to serve on the Appropriations Committee, which tasks its members with tackling the state’s spending.
“I’m living proof that the TOPS program is an effective program and that it does help young people have an opportunity to get a college education,” Miguez said. “I’m a big advocate for protecting that program.”
But Miguez acknowledges how much TOPS has grown — in 1998-1999, when he received the scholarship, it cost the state a total of $54 million. Over the next 15 years, that number nearly tripled to $213 million in 2014.
The increase came over 14 years, as tuition rose and more students received the scholarship. In recent years, tuition has increased sharply, driving up TOPS costs, while the number of students has not increased as dramatically.
Miguez said he’s not opposed to making TOPS more efficient and reining in the program, but he also echoed the sentiment of former Gov. Bobby Jindal, who vetoed a bill last year that would have stopped TOPS awards from increasing every time tuition grows.
“I made a promise to the students and families of this state that a TOPS scholarship would be available to every child who worked hard and met the performance criteria established by law,” Jindal wrote in his June 2015 veto message. “This legislation would renege on that promise.”
Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, authored the bill, which will be resubmitted this session after failing last year. Donahue said the bill is nothing more than a “modest” measure to make TOPS a little bit more sustainable.
The bill is expected to pass during the regular session, as Edwards supported it last year as the House minority leader, and Donahue said he believes he has the votes in both houses. At the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget Saturday, Dardenne presented an updated budget report, detailing the many areas short of funding in the current year — including TOPS’ $28 million shortfall.
“Under normal circumstances, [the TOPS shortfall] could be readily handled,” Dardenne said. But as an addition to a nearly $1 billion shortfall, funding the scholarship becomes problematic.
The difficulties facing higher education this spring far exceed the missing TOPS payments. A host of higher education and government leaders have warned of the dangers of “devastating” cuts to an area that has been hit hard nearly each year when the legislature passes the budget.
Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, oversees the accreditation of Louisiana universities. While the association doesn’t take away universities’ accreditation, sanctions are a real possibility if schools’ budgets are cut and they cannot find a way to sustain themselves.
Wheelan has been monitoring Louisiana universities for years and has watched as the legislature cut funding for higher education year after year. The potential cuts have already left an indelible mark on the University’s reputation — leaders have conceded some damage to recruiting efforts regardless of what happens to funding.
“Students don’t want to go to that place if they’re in trouble,” Wheelan said.
Institutions with less funding have to cut programs, and for the University this year, leaders wonder what areas can be further reduced when cuts are implemented. The school already operates with far less funding than its national peers.
But Wheelan added that when funding is slashed, schools have to roll back programs to shield themselves from accreditation sanctions. While Republican legislators are asking for efficiencies in all areas funded by the state, the University has turned to possible plans to bill students. LSU President F. King Alexander earmarked a hypothetical fee increase at $1,400 per student.
Droddy called Alexander’s comments on the drastic fee increases to students a “scale issue,” so people can understand the gravity of the situation.
“The hole is unprecedented,” Droddy said. “It is larger than anything that anyone can remember. And that is why the responses from the universities seem a little outlandish. That’s because the situation is so large that we are forced to consider things that we would never, ever consider.”