[StBernard] More Value For Higher Education

[Westley Annis]

>From a nola.com article on the cuts:


Jindal, appearing at an early-afternoon news conference before flying off to
a political fundraiser in 
Pennsylvania, said state agencies need to improve their performance even as
revenues 
are lagging.

*******************************************
I'm sorry but he needs to keep his azz home to work on the problems that
Louisiana has.

He had this to say in the article:

"Budget cuts may result in fewer sabbaticals and may force professors to
actually spend more 
time in the classrooms teaching and interacting with students, but that is a
good thing and will result in a 
better education for our students," he said, adding that management and
administrative positions 
should bear the brunt of the cuts.

*****************************************************************
But what he didn't say was:

While Louisiana's per-pupil state support for higher education is above
average,
 total spending on colleges and universities lags behind most Southern
states after money derived 
from tuition and fees is factored in.

**************************************************************

And to be honest...when teachers acquire the status of full professorships,
there *are
some perks that go with it:

Louisiana State University System President John Lombardi said the latest
$35 million cut to 
higher education, which comes after $280 million in cuts since 2008, has
already prompted some 
top faculty members to depart for greener pastures and has made recruiting
more difficult. 

***********************************************************************

Bobby needs to either do his job in state (convene a special session of the
lege and find ways
to cut elsewhere other than education and health care, OR he needs to resign
and let
someone else take the job that want to do the work.





	-----------------------------------------------------
	
	anyone planning to attend LSU or another state university, with or
without
	TOPS scholarship, should pay attention to what Jindal is doing with
higher
	education. if it continues, students will be in very over crowded
	classrooms, while others enrolled in certain programs will have to
transfer
	from one state university to another.  our best and brightest will
continue
	to exit the state for better opportunity.
	
	there is a need to adjust budgets (the article about Pennington
Medical is
	an example).  what's disappointing to me is Jindal just slashed the
budgets
	without a plan---- although he did give a year or two notice.