Gov. John Bel Edwards agreed to delay action on midyear budget cuts until December at the urging of legislators Friday — putting off an expected $18 million cut to higher education.
The cuts are part of a larger plan to close the approximately $315 million budget deficit still plaguing the state government from fiscal year 2016. A number of legislators disagreed with Edwards’ suggested cuts during the joint budget committee meeting and pressed for greater protections for higher education.
Rep. Katrina Jackson, D – Monroe, said the additional cuts are concerning after legislators raised additional tax revenue in the spring with the intention of protecting higher education. Legislators are already struggling to explain TOPS cuts to parents, she said, and additional higher education cuts will only compound the problem.
“This is an onerous task that’s being asked of us in the wake of TOPS,” Jackson said.
After nearly two hours of debate, Rep. Patricia Smith, D – Baton Rouge, motioned to delay the decision until the joint budget committee’s December meeting, providing legislators time to find additional higher education funding.
Though Gov. Edwards — who didn’t require legislative approval to proceed with higher education cuts — agreed to delay executive action, Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne expressed doubt about the legislators’ hopes for sparing higher education.
“We are not going to have the luxury of sparing higher education,” Dardenne said. “I wish we did.”
According to Barry Dussé, director of the governor’s Office of Budget and Planning, the higher education cuts have already been reduced. The projected cuts were originally between $25 million to $30 million, but were reduced at the urging of Rep. Cameron Henry, R – Metairie, Dussé said.
Under the current plan, higher education will suffer an $18 million cut, with the LSU System taking the largest cut at $8.5 million. Of that $8.5 million, the Baton Rouge campus will shoulder approximately $2.8 million.
These likely won’t be the only cuts higher education sees in the coming months.
Dardenne said the administration expects an additional financial shortfall in January, with the next round of cuts totaling anywhere from $100 million to $500 million. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Lafleur, D – Ville Platte, said he anticipates the cuts will fall between $200 million and $300 million.
Sen. Jean-Paul “JP” Morrell, D – New Orleans, said it’s critical legislators propose solutions instead of sniping about the problems. With multiple cuts looming, the legislature will need to act quickly to find solutions — if there are any.
“By putting this cut off until December, the ball is now in the legislature’s court,” Morell said. “If you don’t like the cuts, come up with the alternatives. At the end of the day, no matter what we do, somebody’s not going to get paid, and somebody’s going to get hurt. That’s what cuts are.”