LSUE spared huge budget cuts

LSUE was spared most of the $797,151 budget cut it faced earlier this year, and a remaining cut of about $110,000 will be made up by not filling six positions that have opened up this semester.
LSUE Chancellor Kimberly Russell said, “How the special session ended up, they were trying to fill the $700 million shortfall. That was going to come from higher education and health care. Well, DHH took all of that, so our state general funds for higher education were not cut.
“However, we were cut through TOPS. Everybody in the state, all colleges and universities, have to do 20 percent. LSU, as a whole, all components, that’s about $11 million dollars. For LSUE, it’s almost $102,000 and total cuts are about $110,000. The TOPS cuts are devastating for LSU Baton Rouge. They have the most students on TOPS.”
Russell said there is nowhere to go for revenue, the school cannot offer new classes before the end of the fiscal year and there is nowhere else to trim the campus’ budget to make up for the shortfall caused by the TOPS cut.
Personnel costs at the campus exceed $10.2 million and represent 84 percent of the university’s total expenses, and trimming in the faculty and staff ranks would have been the only way to bridge the money gap.
“The money has to be made up in these last three months,” she said.
Russell said two of the six positions will have been empty for five months and four have been empty for three months when the fiscal year ends June 30. Whether or not these positions will be filled may be decided July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.
She added, “There have been no raises at LSUE in eight years. It’s sad.”
Russel thanked Sen. Eric Lafleur and Rep. Phillip Devillier for their help to mitigate the huge cut to higher education. She said she will continue to work the two politicians in the next session to help fund LSUE.
Earlier this year, the state’s higher education system was told to prepare for $131 million in budget cuts. Of that total, $65 million would have been cut from LSU statewide, and $800,000 would have been cut at LSUE during the current fiscal year.
When the budget cuts were announced, there was even talk of some colleges having to close before the spring semester ended.
Russell was asked to prepare a worst case scenario plan with those figures, and the plan has served as an outline for what may happen in the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
“On July 1, we the start new fiscal year,” Russell said. “We are in session right now with the Legislature. The last numbers I received, all of higher education has been asked to provide a budget scenario for a 10- to 12-percent cut to state general funding.”
The cut means anywhere from $455,980 to $547,177 will have to be trimmed from the school’s budget in the next fiscal year. Under the new plan, LSUE would implement an immediate reduction in force for 10 professional and faculty positions, down from 14 in the first budget cut plan. The staff members would be replaced with adjunct instructors, and course sections would shift to remaining faculty members as overlaid sections. The school would also immediately furlough six classified staff positions, down from nine in the original plan.
Course sections would be reduced by at least 20 percent, which translates to 80 sections eliminated, and this figure is the same as in the original budget cut plan. Russell said the reductions in courses and programs could place regionally and nationally-accredited programs at risk.
As with the previous plan, student fees would also likely increase at LSUE, and student support services such as tutoring and advising would also be affected. LSUE’s physical plant would see even less attention. Scientific equipment and laboratory space is outdated and in some cases poses safety risks.
“I’m sure this plan will change,” she said. “April 5, higher education will meet with the house appropriations committee. F. King Alexander (president of the LSU system) will testify, and we (heads of LSU’s other campuses) will be there in case they have any questions.”
Despite the next looming budget cut, Russell had several pieces of good news from the campus.
“On the bright side, our baseball team is undefeated,” Russell said. “They are 32-0. They are currently ranked number one in the country by Perfect Game Poll, which ranks all junior college across all divisions. Our softball team is also number one.”
On the academic side, 172 new students are registered for the fall 2016 semester, and applications to the university are up 35 percent from last fall. The school hosted its first orientation for the fall semester on Tuesday.
“Lots of students and parents yesterday were asking about TOPS,” Russell said. “Who knows what will happen there. We told them to file their financial aid, and if they don’t have TOPS next year, we will do the best to get them in. The earlier they register, the better.”
The next day to register Tuesday.
At 10 a.m. May 20, the campus will hold its spring 2016 commencement ceremony, and more than 200 students are to receive diplomas. The summer semester begins June 6.
LSU Pathways, the school’s newest partnership with the flagship campus, gives students who were not accepted to the main campus an opportunity to complete a degree or certificate at LSUE and gain essentially guaranteed admission to LSU Baton Rouge. Russell said many out-of-state students are interested in the program.
“I want to remind people of the value of LSUE,” Russell said. “We are about half the cost of LSU Baton Rouge and one of the lowest tuitions in the state.”
She added, “If we can get past this crazy stage, LSUE has so much potential.”