Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s recent executive order freezing the state budget is expected to have “far-reaching effects on LSU.”
Chancellor Sean O’Keefe sent out a campus-wide e-mail Thursday in response to the Sept. 19 order, warning faculty and students that the University was preparing to deal with financial cutbacks because the state is facing a budget crisis in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the impending Hurricane Rita.
LSU is a public university, so the order will affect the University directly.
Blanco’s executive order suspends hiring for new and vacant faculty positions and curtails spending on travel, equipment and professional services in state agencies that do not have the approval of Jerry LeBlanc, the commissioner of administration.
The order said the state has to cut back on spending because “the current year’s state budget has been drastically altered by the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.”
Though the state has received $764 million from the federal government and hopes to receive another $736 million in the coming weeks, the state has a massive hole in its $18.7 billion budget.
As the state continues to spend millions on clean-up efforts, no one can agree on how large the budget deficit will be.
The University is unsure of the exact effects the order may have, but Michael Ruffner, vice chancellor of communications and University Relations, said O’Keefe wanted to alert the campus that changes in spending are coming.
“We don’t have a complete answer on which programs will be affected because our finance folks are going over the document to ensure that they understand it fully,” Ruffner said.
Ruffner said the portion of the executive order that the University will feel immediately is not being able to hire new faculty members.
“We have a lot of vacancies right now that can’t be filled anymore,” he said.
He said the University understands the executive order may cause some inconveniences, but it is prepared to do its part to help the state move past the devastation Katrina caused.
“If everyone has to tighten their belts, we’ll do what we have to do,” Ruffner said.
He said a more detailed description of the effects of the executive order on the University will be sent out today.
Contact Jeff Jeffrey at [email protected] Jeff Jeffrey at [email protected]