Statewide higher education officials asked the Legislature on Thursday to approve parts of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s budget that would allow universities to self-generate more revenue — most of it out of students pocketbooks.
“This is the first time we’ve come before you with so much of our budget at risk,” said LSU System President John Lombardi.
The House Committee on Appropriations brought the policymakers together to discuss the implication of Jindal’s executive budget, released last month.
Jindal’s budget leaves higher education funding for next year roughly the same as the current one. It makes up for general funding decreases by allowing colleges and universities the opportunity to make up the difference with millions in “self-generated revenue.”
That means increased tuition and fees for students.
The meeting marked the first test for the state’s new Commissioner of Higher Education, Jim Purcell, who has had the position for about a week.
“We all know higher education in Louisiana has to change,” Purcell told the committee. “In an ideal world, a low-income state would have low-income tuition and strong state support. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world.”
Purcell and other administrators told legislators they could probably preserve the state’s higher education system if Jindal’s proposed executive budget passes unchanged.
Higher education funding in the governor’s budget relies on passage of several bills, including a bill that would shift TOPS funding away from general fund money to a constitutionally-dedicated chunk of tobacco settlement money. Administrators at the meeting said higher education could face serious setbacks if those bills aren’t approved.
Committee members interrogated the officials about both the proposed bills and a wide range of higher education issues, especially TOPS.
Jindal’s constitutional amendment that would fund TOPS came under some new criticism from several legislators.
Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, said capping the Millennium Trust Fund to give money to TOPS would mean the state would miss out on millions in revenue in the future.
Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rogue, said GO Grants, scholarships that generally help less affluent students go to college, have consistently lost funding while TOPS has gained money.
“If funding doesn’t increase to GO Grants, we’re going to have people who can’t afford to go to college. I ask the administration: Is that what you want?” Smith said.
Purcell acknowledged GO Grants might need more support.
“In poor states, you really want to have the ability for everyone to go to college,” he said.
Rep. Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, suggested students should have to take 15 hours to earn TOPS, which would require separate legislation from the bill that would raise the tuition cap.
Another hot topic at the meeting was the Board of Regents funding formula, which distributes state money to higher education institutions. All of the system presidents said they generally approved of the formula, but each had specific complaints.
Lombardi, for example, argued for the inclusion of a research component in the performance-based funds the formula allots.