Want to know why the University of Louisiana System and the Community and Technical College System are crying foul?
One of the Jindal administration's successes in the recently concluded legislative session was the creation of the so-called Tucker Commission. Named for Speaker of the House Jim Tucker, who wrote the resolution authorizing the commission, the nine member panel is to come up with a road map for Louisiana's higher education future.
The idea is that Louisiana has too many four-year institutions with too many overlapping programs. It was accepted at the capitol that this model is fiscally unsustainable, and that changes must be made.
In order to remove state politics from the equation as much as possible, the commission is supposed include four outside experts, along with two gubernatorial appointees, the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate or their appointees, and the chairman of the Board of Regents or his appointee.
The governor appointed the chairmen of the boards of LSU and Southern to the commission, but nobody thought to include ULL or LCTC in the mix.
According to this story by Advocate reporter Jordan Blum, the panel may be expanded to include reps from those systems. The catch is, they won't be able to vote.
Showing posts with label Southern University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Southern University. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
LSU and Southern faculty leaders fight budget cuts
To their great credit, faculty leaders at Louisiana universities are fighting the budget cuts proposed by Governor Bobby Jindal. As Advocate reporter Jordan Blum writes here, LSU Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope and Southern Faculty Senate President Sudhir Trivedi are protesting teh goverbnor's plan to cut between $212 million and $382 million from higher education's budget this year.
LFT President Steve Monaghan agrees with the profesors, saying the state's failure to properly fund eduation at all levels contributes to our loss of productive citizens moving in droves to other states;
Here is the text of Steve's letter:
Dear Editor
Louisiana State University Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope and Southern University Sudhir Trivedi are to be applauded for their leadership in opposition to devastating cuts to higher education.
Their outrage is not unwarranted, particularly when one considers these cuts in the context of the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks, tax deductions, and credits that have been provided for dubious purposes and often with little demonstrated need over the last few years.
While Louisiana’s coffers swelled as a result of rising oil prices and the infusion of billions of dollars in post-hurricane reconstruction, the LFT warned against the expansion and acceleration of enormous tax breaks for big business. We opposed the repeal of earlier tax reforms that had helped to diversify the state’s revenue base. Nonetheless, hundreds of millions in revenues were forfeited while a very long list of unmet and deferred needs continued to be deferred and unmet.
Professors Cope and Trivedi and the faculties of both institutions are wise to react swiftly and forcefully to possible cuts of $212 to $382 million dollars. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers stands with them in opposition to such draconian cuts to higher education.
In fact, the LFT has urged our governor to articulate a bolder, broader vision for Louisiana, particularly in the area of public education. We believe that this vision must include a recognition that Louisiana continues to suffer an outmigration of its best and brightest because of its historical failure to invest in its people and its infrastructure. Our state failed to embrace public policies that contribute to a higher quality of life for all citizens.
Let us move our public discourse beyond administrative nostrums to “learn to do more with less.” That prescription has led us to ignore pressing needs for far too long. Certainly, every tax dollar must be spent responsibly, strategically, and to build a better Louisiana. But the state must have enough of those dollars to conduct the people’s business.
Leaders must encourage us to dance to forms of music yet to be heard. Educators and many of citizens have heard a sad symphony for far too long. We’re ready to dance to something a bit more upbeat and much bolder.
Steve Monaghan, President
Louisiana Federation of Teachers
LFT President Steve Monaghan agrees with the profesors, saying the state's failure to properly fund eduation at all levels contributes to our loss of productive citizens moving in droves to other states;
Here is the text of Steve's letter:
Dear Editor
Louisiana State University Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope and Southern University Sudhir Trivedi are to be applauded for their leadership in opposition to devastating cuts to higher education.
Their outrage is not unwarranted, particularly when one considers these cuts in the context of the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks, tax deductions, and credits that have been provided for dubious purposes and often with little demonstrated need over the last few years.
While Louisiana’s coffers swelled as a result of rising oil prices and the infusion of billions of dollars in post-hurricane reconstruction, the LFT warned against the expansion and acceleration of enormous tax breaks for big business. We opposed the repeal of earlier tax reforms that had helped to diversify the state’s revenue base. Nonetheless, hundreds of millions in revenues were forfeited while a very long list of unmet and deferred needs continued to be deferred and unmet.
Professors Cope and Trivedi and the faculties of both institutions are wise to react swiftly and forcefully to possible cuts of $212 to $382 million dollars. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers stands with them in opposition to such draconian cuts to higher education.
In fact, the LFT has urged our governor to articulate a bolder, broader vision for Louisiana, particularly in the area of public education. We believe that this vision must include a recognition that Louisiana continues to suffer an outmigration of its best and brightest because of its historical failure to invest in its people and its infrastructure. Our state failed to embrace public policies that contribute to a higher quality of life for all citizens.
Let us move our public discourse beyond administrative nostrums to “learn to do more with less.” That prescription has led us to ignore pressing needs for far too long. Certainly, every tax dollar must be spent responsibly, strategically, and to build a better Louisiana. But the state must have enough of those dollars to conduct the people’s business.
Leaders must encourage us to dance to forms of music yet to be heard. Educators and many of citizens have heard a sad symphony for far too long. We’re ready to dance to something a bit more upbeat and much bolder.
Steve Monaghan, President
Louisiana Federation of Teachers
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