Dive Summary:
- Louisiana House Speaker Chuck Kleckley on Monday called on the state's higher education leaders to draw up a better plan for funding the state's four public university systems.
- Higher education funding in Louisiana has fallen almost $700 million in the last five years, leaving 70% of funding coming from tuition and fees and only 30% from the state, and institutions can't raise tuition without the approval of state lawmakers.
- Kleckley said previous recommendations for improving funding weren't approved by the necessary parties, and he didn't say who he felt should lead the new discussions despite saying he was impressed by new LSU Chancellor F. King Alexander.
From the article:
... During a meeting of the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday, Kleckley recognized cuts to public higher education systems is not a trend unique to Louisiana. However, where other states have devised plans of action to deal with chronic underfunding and poor performance, he said Louisiana's system is "a recipe for disaster."
"We've fallen behind [and] we're not likely to catch up" without a unified plan, Kleckley said. He added he was "challenging" the state's higher education leaders "to explore all solutions and all possibilities to ensure our higher education systems are funded at a level that allows them to effectively educate the people of Louisiana." ...