Officials across state government departments are bracing for the worst in light of budget cuts under consideration by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration. A budget shortfall of $1.4 billion is projected for the 2015-2016 fiscal year—a figure that could further balloon due to falling oil prices—and the state’s higher education institutions likely will bear the brunt of efforts to bring the budget into balance.
Collectively, the state’s four higher education systems could see more than $350 million cut from their budgets; that would be nearly $1 million per day over the coming fiscal year.
State Senate President John Alario, who began his legislative career in the early 1970s, says this pending budget crisis is one of the worst he has seen and that as many as 16 campuses around the state could be closed—including, potentially, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
“It would be devastating,” Alario tells Daily Report. “All of the institutions are in danger at this point and that’s why we need to begin to devise a plan to avoid all that from happening. It will take a lot of cooperation.”
Alario says he has no idea at this point how such cuts could be avoided. Board of Regents Vice Chairman Richard Lipsey, however, says the state’s higher education board has asked the state’s colleges and universities to prepare worst-case-scenario budgets they can bring to the Legislature this spring.
“I promise the Board of Regents is doing everything it can to work with the four systems,” Lipsey says. “It’s extremely serious … but we’re hopeful our state government will be able to find a way to cut corners in other departments.”
Already some other departments are threatening drastic action. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says his office may begin furloughing employees as soon as next week.
The Jindal administration asked agencies to devise scenarios for budget cuts that might be needed before the fiscal year ends June 30 in order to cope with falling oil prices that are reducing state tax revenue. Schedler’s office was given a target of stripping $3.8 million from its $77 million budget. Schedler said Wednesday that would force him to ask for civil service approval to require all his workers to take one unpaid day off in each pay period for the next five months.
House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, meanwhile, has vowed to fight Jindal’s proposal to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from Louisiana colleges next year, thus setting the stage for a possible financial clash between the lame-duck governor and lawmakers. The Jindal administration has set a goal of shrinking state financing for each agency by 15%. —Stephanie Riegel
