The House Appropriations Committee will discuss parts of the proposed state budget that could affect higher education Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Capitol.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s proposed budget would return the LSU System’s budget close to what it was before the hurricanes. Her proposal includes about $31 million for faculty pay raises, which the Board of Regents would allocate.
Charles Zewe, LSU System spokesman, said System President William Jenkins, Chancellor Sean O’Keefe and representatives from other state systems and universities will attend the meeting to answer representatives’ questions and explain the proposed budget.
Kristine Calongne, director of media relations for the Office of Public Affairs, said O’Keefe will support the proposed budget because it will help the University maintain its funding baseline.
Calongne said a representative from the University will attend all legislative sessions to support the proposed budget.
Zewe said he expects representatives will want to know the status of the University of New Orleans, the AgCenter and the Health Science Center in New Orleans – all of which were affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Zewe said he thinks the full Legislature will probably not consider the budget until early or mid-May.
The budget allocates about $179 million for the University – a .92 percent increase from last fiscal year’s budget before the hurricanes.
“It’s virtually a stand-still budget,” Zewe said. “It does nothing to further the Flagship Agenda. It’s better than a cut.”
The total LSU System budget, which includes all of the institutions in the system, will be $519 million under the proposed budget – a 1.58 percent decrease.
UNO will face the largest cut, 8.12 percent less than last year’s budget.
Zewe said the University of New Orleans would experience a cut because of an expected 5,000 student decrease in enrollment.
“These are adjusted based on the reality of what Katrina has left us with,” Zewe said.
 
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