The current version of next year’s state budget “stems the bleeding” for higher education, the president of the University of Louisiana System tells the USA Today Network of Louisiana.
The Senate passed its version of the budget Saturday with no cuts to higher education and no cuts to the state’s popular college scholarship program TOPS.
“It’s about as good as we’ve been treated in a decade,” says UL System President Jim Henderson. “TOPS is fully funded to keep our commitment to students and higher education was held where it was last year.
“Now we’re still spending thousands of dollars less per students than some of our competitors, but it looks like we’ve finally stemmed the bleeding, so it’s been a great session for higher education in the state of Louisiana,” he adds.
The House’s version of the budget fully funded TOPS but didn’t make higher education whole.
Members of the Senate chose to appropriate all of the estimated revenue in its version of the $29 billion budget, while the House held out $206 million because of consistently missed revenue estimates.
The budget bill returns to the House this week where members there can choose to concur with the Senate changes or reject the changes and send the bill to a conference committee for negotiations.
“I don’t like that (the Senate) spent 100 percent because it sets us up for midyear cuts,” says House GOP Caucus Chairman Lance Harris, R-Alexandria.
