Rep. Eddie Lambert said he “could not agree” with LSU System President John Lombardi’s “blanket statement” that a proposed 5 percent funding cut would freeze the University’s progress toward achieving the National Flagship Agenda.
Lambert, house appropriations education subcommittee chairman, responded to an April 10 letter he received from Lombardi advising against the budget cut.
“Such cutbacks will send shock waves through our faculty, staff and students statewide,” Lombardi wrote, citing the System’s loss of more than $36.6 million.
In the letter, Lombardi said a preliminary analysis indicates the budget decrease would “dramatically increase pressure” for the University to increase tuition by 12 percent – $270 per student per semester.
“I understand some of his points,” Lambert said. “But the question is, how much can we save in administration, not necessarily cutting programs and things like that?”
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected].