Let’s be smarter about cuts -- editorial

Houmatoday.com

It was just coincidence that a national teacher survey giving Louisiana a C- came out on the same day we ran a story about impending budget cuts to Louisiana’s higher-education system.

Coincidence or not, though, the two stories highlight a continuing need to improve education in Louisiana and a continuing willingness to make our colleges and universities take cuts when money gets tight.

The teacher survey, conducted by the National Council on Teacher Quality, rated the various states on their ability to hire and keep good teachers. It came out Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, we ran a story detailing the effects of the $116.4 million cut the University of Louisiana System will undergo in next year’s budget.

The two stories weren’t related except that the matter of education was involved. Ironically, though, even as the state was told it wasn’t doing very well at attracting and keeping good teachers, our colleges were planning on cutting 1,500 jobs and 60 academic programs.

Clearly, higher education should be a public priority. Our colleges and universities train the next generation of leaders who will enter every field of endeavor, including education.

Cutting the money going into education -- the preparation of our future -- is counterproductive to any sort of long-term plan for the state.

Officials with the University of Louisiana System have estimated that the cuts on the table now could lead to 12,000 students leaving school.

That is a scary thought if only because young people trying to position themselves for success in the future deserve our encouragement and support. Their success will go a long way toward determining the future outlook of the entire state.

At Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, the cuts forced on the system this year have already led to reduced course offerings and shortened library hours, direct components to our students’ ability to succeed.

Our institutions of higher learning represent a significant investment. They take up a large part of the state’s budget.

But they are investments that return education. They turn out teachers, writers, mathematicians and judges.

More importantly, they represent an investment in our future. Making massive cuts to education might make sense on a written budget, but any concerted effort to bring our state into a better future must include adequate funding for our colleges and universities.

We urge our state leaders to take a long, hard look at state spending priorities and to make sure they are in order with our society’s goals.

If our colleges face disproportionately large cuts, it might be a sign that our priority system as a whole needs an adjustment.

While money is so tight, this could be the best possible time to look again at those priorities.

Editorials represent the opinions of the newspaper, not of any individual.