The state of Middleton Library, which has become the University’s poster child for a $2 billion backlog in money for repairs at colleges throughout Louisiana, was thrust into a discussion of dilapidated campus buildings with leaky roofs and exposed wiring at a state Senate committee on Monday.
Sen. Ryan Gatti, R-Bossier City, presented a bill before the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs committee that would require capital outlay money dedicated to higher education to be spent on deferred maintenance — buildings and projects that have fallen into disrepair and need attention.
For the upcoming year, the Board of Regents already recommended the Legislature only give schools money for repairs, not new projects. The Board also requested money for ongoing new projects.
.@JPMorrell: “What the public has seen is a greater desire to build a new student athlete pavilion than a library,” in la. colleges #lalege
— Sam Karlin (@samkarlin) April 18, 2016
“What the public has seen,” said Chairman J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, “[is] a greater desire to build a new student-athlete pavilion than a library, which 99.9 percent of the students use.”
Morrell noted the “leaking foundation” and peeling wallpaper of LSU’s main campus library.
There is $2 billion in unfunded repairs for schools throughout the state, and Regents Chair Richard Lipsey has vocally advocated for fixing campus buildings.
Gatti’s bill ran into some trouble as higher education officials questioned how it would affect private donations for new projects, many of which are funded partly by donations and partly by the state.
Regents Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration Terrence Ginn insisted the board already takes deferred maintenance “very seriously.” Some buildings are so “dilapidated,” it’s cheaper to tear them down and build new ones than it is to repair them, he said.
LSU Executive Director of Policy and External Affairs Jason Droddy told the committee the LSU System would need $750 million to tackle all maintenance issues at campuses around the state. The main campus has roughly 28 buildings in need of repairs, totaling nearly $300 million.
The governor’s executive budget included $50 million allocated for capital outlay, and higher education typically receives half that amount.
“I know this seems like a drop in the bucket of a $2 billion problem, but we’re looking at a lot of drops,” Gatti said.
