Budget axe hovers over LSUE

More than a dozen staff positions and program and course section cuts totaling nearly $800,000 could be coming to LSUE if the state does not find a way to plug an estimated $750 million budget shortfall.
LSUE Chancellor Kimberly Russell said, “Spring enrollment has increased just over 5 percent as compared to the spring of 2015, and applications for the fall of 2016 are up 50 percent when compared to January of 2015. A 32 percent cut over the next four months would curtail our progress and further place an already insecure university in significant financial distress.”
Russell said, “Overall, LSUE could not withstand a 32 percent cut in state appropriations. It would devastate the university’s ability to recruit and retain students, faculty and staff. While we are working diligently to create business and industry partnerships, to cultivate friends and donors to the university and to seek alternate revenue sources, we cannot overcome the sudden shortfall mid-year. The people of south Louisiana deserve to have access to a high quality, high value post-secondary education.”
Late last week, the governor’s office announced $131 million in cuts could be made to the state’s higher education system, and $65 million of that would be trimmed from the LSU System statewide.
Monday afternoon, Russell provided LSU a worst case scenario plan if the cuts become reality and the campus is forced to trim spending almost $800,000 in four months.
“The potential reduction of $797,151 for the 2015-16 academic year would be devastating for LSU Eunice,” Russell said.
The head of the campus began her outline with the school’s figures on employment and enrollment. Currently the campus employs 68 full-time faculty, 84 staff and just over 50 adjunct instructors, and the total student body is 2,500.
“LSUE is comprised of a rural student population and is located in an underserved region of the state,” Russell said. “LSUE provides ‘access and opportunity’ to the state’s flagship university since over 50 percent — the highest transfer rate of all two-year institutions in Louisiana — transfer to complete baccalaureate degrees at four-year institutions.”
Russell said tuition and fee increases would not begin to cover the shortfall since LSUE has one of the lowest rates in the state. The chancellor estimated it would take 232 new students enrolled in at least 12 hours this semester to generate the needed revenue to stave off the possible cuts.
“LSUE’s current financial position is unstable at best,” she said. “The university generates about $7.5 million in tuition and fees and receives about $4.8 million from state appropriations which together totals $12.3 million. Personnel costs exceed $10.2 million and represent 84 percent of the university’s total expenses. LSUE would deplete any remaining reserves and implement a series of reductions and furloughs of employees.”
Russell said LSUE would lose 14 professional and faculty positions and replace those faculty members with adjunct instructors. LSUE would also furlough nine classified staff positions. Course sections would be shifted to remaining faculty as overload sections, the plan stated.
“The impact of these reductions extends beyond the immediate need to generate revenue,” Russell said. “It will further discourage faculty and staff who have not had the benefit of salary increases over the last seven years. It will also impact the recruitment and retention of quality instructors, professors and administrators for the future. Students will become disengaged and may no longer attend without appropriate support from the university.”
The campus would also have to eliminate at least two-high cost, high-demand academic programs, but the decision of which programs that could be is still being made. Course sections would be reduced by at least 20 percent, which translates to 80 sections eliminated.
“The reductions in courses and programs may place regionally and nationally accredited programs at risk,” Russell said. “The elimination of course sections and programs is detrimental to the university and to the state of Louisiana. Approximately 50 percent of students in St. Landry, Evangeline, Acadia parishes attend college the fall semester following graduation. Over 70 percent of these students are considered economically disadvantaged and at least half of them are living at or below the national poverty level.
“It is imperative that LSUE remain viable. Students in southwest Louisiana deserve to have access to a high quality higher education, so that they can become productive, taxpaying citizens.”
In just the last decade, student fees, which are not part of student’s tuition, have gone up at universities across the state to help fill budget cuts. Fees will likely increase at LSUE and other universities if the budget cut occurs.
“LSUE would dramatically increase student fees to offset part of the reduction,” Russell said.
Student support services such as tutoring and advising would also be affected, and LSUE’s physical plant, which is already not receiving routine maintenance and repair, would see even less attention. Scientific equipment and laboratory space is outdated and in some cases poses safety risks, Russell also said.
Russell added, “Increases in student fees and reductions in student services are temporary fixes.”
Despite what may come of the budget cuts, Russell is upbeat with the good things going on at the school.
“LSUE faculty, staff and students are focused on the spring semester’s classes and activities,” she said. “The campus is positive and enrollment is up.  We have a critical mission to fulfill in this region, and we are excited to be making progress and moving forward!”
Russell urged friends and supporters to contact locally elected officials to curtail the drastic cuts to higher education and to LSU. 
“LSUE serves as a beacon of hope to our region and state by providing access to a high quality, affordable higher education,” Russell said. “We produce taxpayers not tax users. LSUE is a win-win for everyone!”
Rep. Phillip DeVillier of Eunice said, “I feel that any cuts to our university, which is on a trend of bringing in more students right now, if you start taking out classes, that will drive students away instead of bringing them in. The school is basically down to its bare bones.”
DeVillier hopes the estimate on the budget’s shortfall will be lowered at an upcoming revenue estimating conference on Feb. 10 and that the shortfall will be filled with money from the state’s BP oil spill settlement damages and rainy day fund.
“I believe, hope, they will lower the deficit,” DeVillier said. “If it is lowered, I think it will be lowered to $400 million. If they do in fact lower it, the immediate fix, which I don’t think there is a good immediate fix, the possible immediate fix could be to take money from the rainy day fund.”
Governor John Bel Edwards has suggested raising taxes, including a tobacco tax, to prevent cuts to the state budget, but DeVillier does not think increasing taxes is the way to go.
“I don’t agree with any additional taxes,” he said. “If that is the only option, I think we need to look at an Internet sales tax because our brick and mortar stores are paying the price.”
DeVillier said, “Last year, the tobacco tax was raised, and it brought over $100 million in revenue. I don’t feel that industry should carry any more burden. No new taxes. We need to look at how we are collecting and spending money. That is where the problem is at (with the budget).”
The representative said that if the executive budget is not fixed by Feb. 13, there would likely be a special session.
“We have 105 members of the House,” DeVellier said. “We will have to have a majority agreement to either raise revenue, cut expenses or both.”
He said,”Nothing will be easy. Someone will hate what we do. The structure of our budget needs to be changed. The question is do we raise revenue, cut expenses or both? To me, we need to look at priorities. It will take time to fix the budget. It will not happen overnight. I feel like the governor saying he’s going to cut higher education is trying to put pressure on us.”
Sen. Eric LaFleur of Ville Platte pointed to issues in the Jindal administration as the cause for the current state of Louisiana’s budget and the possible higher education budget cuts.
“The Jindal legacy of mismanagement of Louisiana’s fiscal affairs will take some time to fix,” LaFleur said in an email. “We’ve made little or no investment in the state’s infrastructure and saw Louisiana’s colleges and technical or vocational schools endure the largest cuts of state support in the United States and at the same time saw the largest increase in fees and tuition, a 99 percent increase since 2008.
“Parents of students attending college or technical schools are paying more than ever before or you find students graduating with more and more debt. Moreover, the classes available have been reduced and training programs are fewer.”
LaFleur said the budget shortfall came after the implementation of cuts and is based on a status quo or standstill budget.
“In other words, the shortfall is based on maintaining the current budget for state operations with no additional expenditures for roads or infrastructure or education. Jindal’s last budget underestimated revenue and over estimated expenses. This was the case for the last four or five years.”
He said, “Jindal’s out of office only a few weeks and today Louisiana’s colleges and technical schools facing the larges midyear cut in the history of Louisiana.”