There’s a class of budget reductions that are harmful -- even painful because of staff and program cuts -- and yet still manageable.
Then there are financial cuts so dramatic -- and perhaps unrealistic -- that it’s hard to picture what the remaining institution would look like when the dust settled.
That second version is hanging over Louisiana’s 28 public colleges and universities right now.
The state faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit, and speculation of up to $300 million in cuts to higher education started appearing in news stories back in January. Since then, the worst-case scenario has only grown worse.
Louisiana’s general fund contribution to higher education this year will be $924 million. But unless the legislature takes action within the next 45 days, that number plummets to $391 million for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/27/anxiety-over-massive-proposed-cuts-louisianas-colleges-felt-across-state