Senate Finance Committee - Knights in Shining Armor?

As we posted previously, the Senate Finance Committee has been doing diligent work to help preserve as best they can Louisiana's higher education by finding alternatives to a massive $219 million budget cut for this upcoming year.

The Committee has not only called for use of Louisiana's "Rainy Day" fund - a combination of surplus and other funds for use during, you guessed it, economic crises - but they have also passed SB 335, which will stall tax breaks and put a freeze on deductables from state income tax at 65%. This bill is contentious in both the House and the governor's office, but the Senate seems confident in its passage.

With SB 335 alone, the proposed cuts will drop more than half to $100 million - still a hefty cut but relatively much more manageable for Louisiana's higher-ed institutions. At these levels a cut to LSU would certainly be less drastic than previously expected. And if a portion of the rainy day funds go to education, the effects would be even less. Understandably, many areas of the state's economy need attention, and those most important areas should receive rainy day consideration.

SOS - Save Our Schools thinks education should be right there at the top of the list.

Source: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/46871232.html?index=14&c=y

Jindal's Getting Phone Calls

So I realize I went off on the Governor in my last post on this blog, but it was heartfelt and I meant it, and I still mean it. But I do understand he has a tough job ahead; I just hope he sees how important higher education is to this state.

It turns out he might be made to see if he keeps getting calls on the subject. This is a mass Facebook message I received per my membership in the group "I Signed the Petition to Protect Louisiana Education!"

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FROM: Joe Abraham

A friend called the Governor's office to express his concerns about cuts to higher education. The staffer who took the call said, "We're starting to get a lot of phone calls about education funding."

I just called; the staffer listened politely, took notes, and thanked me for calling.

So please, take a sec, call Governor Jindal's office, and express to him your concerns about education funding in Louisiana:
225.342.7015

And please, pass this on to your friends via eMail, Facebook, phone, and anything else you can think of!

Joe
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I intend on calling later in the day. I urge you to do the same! Any avenues we can use to express our displeasure - or in my case, incredulity - about the situation, will help.