The LSU System has more than $1 billion in deferred maintenance needs, including $718 million at its flagship campus in Baton Rouge, the USA Today Network of Louisiana reports.
The figures are indicative of a greater problem Louisiana’s higher education institutions are facing—the growing problem of deferred maintenance that has taken a backseat to surviving eight years of budget cuts to the state’s public colleges and universities.
In all, Louisiana’s college campuses are crumbling under the weight of $1.7 billion in deferred maintenance. Leaky roofs, mold- and mildew-stained ceilings, threadbare carpet, pipes propped up by two-by-fours and parking lots with deep potholes can be found from Louisiana Tech University to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, from Northwestern State to LSU-Shreveport and from the University of Louisiana at Monroe to Central Louisiana Technical Community College.
“When you’re worried about keeping the doors open you can sometimes overlook a roof that sprung a leak,” says Jim Henderson, president of University of Louisiana System, which has $364 million maintenance backlog.
Last week, when Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne presented next year’s proposed state budget he included a system-by-system, campus-by-campus list of deferred maintenance needs that he says shouldn’t be ignored any longer.
“If you have a hole in the roof and don’t have the money to patch it the problem eventually grows into something much more serious and costly,” Dardenne said after the meeting.
Still, the state has less capacity in its construction budget, and that means there are fewer opportunities to build new facilities if the existing ones become uninhabitable.
What’s needed, says Louisiana Tech President Les Guice, is a steady, consistent stream of investment that colleges and universities can use to plan for repairs. But the state’s colleges and universities agree that seems unlikely in the near future as the Louisiana faces another budget shortfall next year.
