The LSU Board of Supervisors approved the first piece in setting the budget for fiscal year 2015-2016.
The Operating Budget Request details the financial needs of the LSU System for the next year.
Vice President for Finance and Administration Daniel Layzell said the budget request is based on the funding formula set by the Louisiana Board of Regents, which calculates and estimates the funding higher education institutions need to run.
The budget request, approved Friday, outlines the funding for each of the LSU System’s campuses across the state except for the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the LSU System Office and the LSU Health Care Services Division.
The Louisiana Board of Regents will submit a similar budget request for all of the state’s higher education institutions to the Division of Administration and Legislature for the next year. These requests will be updated as additional information becomes available and presented in the final request to the Legislature at the end of March 2015, as outlined in the agenda.
Student parking and University residential buildings may also see improvements in the next few years.
The board also moved forward with plans to improve the use of University assets, focusing on student housing, parking and energy management.
Plans are based on a report the board received from Huron Consulting Group presented to the board at its September meeting. The group was hired to evaluate the University’s parking and Residential Life.
At the September meeting, Stephen Goldsmith, a managing director with Huron, said the major finding in his report is that University housing is cost-effective and well-managed, but parking could see improvements.
Layzell said the plan’s goals are to increase University revenues in student housing, parking and energy while still allowing students to use the buildings as changes are made.
Becoming a greener University by using less energy was also in the plans.
The University will monitor the energy use of many buildings on campus to see how it can be improved and work toward upgrading lighting fixtures in many buildings to increase energy efficiency, Layzell said.
The plans will be integrated into the University’s master plan for residential halls and are a part of LSU 2015 — an initiative to increase the University’s competitiveness.
The board also approved a lease agreement with the LSU Foundation for the Nicholson Gateway development, where the Foundation will be housed. The development will build a new residential area in place of the old Nicholson Apartments.
According to the University’s website, the Nicholson Gateway development aims to offer the amenities students experience on campus and to attract graduate students as an alternative to other housing options.
The Board of Supervisors also approved a contract extension for men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones and a decrease in ticket prices for women’s basketball games.
According to the board’s agenda, the decrease in season tickets for basketball games will help entice fans to purchase tickets even though many of the games this season will be televised.

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Emily Brauner

LSU Board of Supervisors meets in the Administration Building on Friday, October 24.