[StBernard] More Value For Higher Education

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends - 

This week I reached out to Louisiana college students and asked them to
share their thoughts on my Facebook
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c273%7c9390&digest=ncd
zx2eU2cZoayUslRJ7fg&sysid=1>  page about how we can improve the value of
their education. I know folks are concerned about budget reductions and how
they may impact higher education so I asked students directly about how we
can spend less and deliver more value at our colleges and universities.

As I told the Monroe News-Star
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c274%7c9390&digest=0S1
cBBHjQrBTt%2f%2bwCY%2by7w&sysid=1> , we're going to continue making higher
education a priority, but it's important we get results from our
universities.  Our government is spending more than we can afford, and I
believe our universities are delivering less value than our students
deserve. Just listen to some of the facts. Louisiana ranks ninth in the
country for the percentage of state tax dollars spent on higher education,
but we have the second lowest graduation rate in the South. That's
unacceptable! 

While the overall state budget has decreased by about 26 percent, higher
education's budget has been reduced by roughly 4.5 percent. So the answer
certainly isn't to raise taxes. We've got to find solutions to spend less
and deliver more value at higher education institutions. That includes
examining sabbatical policies at our universities to ensure professors are
actually spending time in the classroom. I encourage you to join the
conversation here
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c285%7c9390&digest=NvX
eYh2kgbaNFmjFBGxwtQ&sysid=1>  and send your suggestions about how we can
improve the higher education system in Louisiana. 

Yesterday, I joined officials from Georgia-Pacific to announce another great
win for our state and especially for East Baton Rouge Parish and our forest
products industry.  As WAFB
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c286%7c9390&digest=X58
y3t1XOD7H7gClHjUZqA&sysid=1>  reported, Georgia-Pacific has selected its
mill in Port Hudson to receive a capital investment of $300 million that
will ensure the retention of approximately 1,000 jobs right here in
Louisiana.   This project is yet another great example of the value in
making business retention and expansion our top economic development
priority.

Sincerely,
Governor Bobby Jindal