Budget cuts poised for University of Louisiana system, LSU AgCenter

Higher education leaders indicated Tuesday there would be furloughs for the University of Louisiana system and consolidation of LSU AgCenter’s research and extension services, perhaps even terminations, under the newly proposed cuts by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
State agencies got the bad news earlier in the day of the governor’s proposed budget reductions starting July 1 to help close at $750 million revenue projected shortfall.
The AgCenter will take a $4.7 million cut to its budget, $1.5 million of which is one time money that was not renewed for the next fiscal year.
“I’ve got research facilities undermanned, parishes with only one extension agent and classrooms with one teacher for 50 kids,” LSU AgCenter Vice President and Dean of the College of Agriculture Bill Richardson said. “We are underfunded as is, and losing that $4.7 million would be critical.”
UL System President Dan Reneau also indicated some schools within his system would probably have to furlough employees with the nearly 6 percent cut to higher education’s overall funding. Reneau said he did not know how much of the $46.1 million his system would have to bare.
“I am scared about TOPS, however,” Reneau said. “TOPS critically affects enrollment and if they don’t fund the program, our enrollment will go down, which means our finances go down with it.”
Statewide, TOPs is taking a 60 percent hit under the present budget cenario.
Hampton Grunewald, coordinator for Richardson’s office, said that the consolidation of research stations and extension programs is a difficult task when considering the state’s diverse agriculture linked to regional geography and weather patterns.
“We can’t close a sugar cane research facility in south Louisiana and then move the researcher to a facility in north Louisiana because sugar cane doesn’t grow there,” Grunewald said.
Over the past year, the AgCenter has begun looking at different ways to increase self-generated revenues by selling off cattle, and would have to lease out land on top of consolidating its research and extension services if additional funding is not found.
There is no way under the constitution the regular legislation can produce additional revenue. However, the governor all but said he would call a special session, which would be able to manipulate taxes, exemptions, and other revenue-producing moves, on June 7, the day after the regular 2016 session ends. That would allow the possibility of 11th hour revenue to mitigate some or all of the budget cuts.