CABL president: Higher ed cuts would cause damage for decades

The cuts to higher education being proposed at the Capitol, if implemented, will be an “absolute disaster for Louisiana,” says Council for a Better Louisiana President Barry Erwin. “Not just a disaster for schools and campuses, but for the entire state and our future prosperity,” Erwin adds in a commentary received by Business Report. “Sure, many will say, we’ve heard that all before, but the fact is post-secondary education has now reached a point where it is approaching a fiscal crisis that could cause generational damage.” Erwin says proposed cuts “will likely have at least a handful of institutions teetering on the brink of the higher education equivalent of bankruptcy.” At some point, he says, Louisiana must set some strategic priorities to get its higher education system past where it is today and position it toward where the state wants it to be in the future. “That’s why we need to reject the massive cuts to higher education that some have been advocating, and work toward a more permanent solution that is sustainable for our state and provides the quality educational opportunities our citizens so greatly need,” he writes. Read the full column, which dissects specific cuts being proposed at each institution, and calls for tuition increases and legislative attempts to merge some colleges and universities, here.