In a televised address to the state Thursday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said that “you can say farewell to college football next fall” if the state doesn’t fix a near $2 billion budget deficit for the next fiscal year.
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LEE CELANO/REUTERS Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has threatened the eligibility of student athletes if his tax hike plan isn’t approved. “Student athletes across the state would be ineligible to play next semester”, Edwards says due to universities having to shut down classes. “That means you can say farewell to college football next fall”, says Edwards. Legislators will have 3 short weeks to solve a budget crisis years in the making.
Without more money next year, the public school financing formula would be shielded from reductions in the 2016-17 fiscal year that begins July 1, but almost every state agency would take hefty cuts under Edwards’ budget proposal.
“This is NOT the budget I want passed but the budget I must submit to you based on my constitutional obligation to submit a balanced budget”.
But this scenario assumes that the state Legislature does virtually nothing to address the highly volatile budget crisis.
Marty Chabert, former state senator and current member of the state Board of Regents, says it’s a scary time to be a friend of higher education given the latest financial shortfalls revealed and because of already proposed drastic funding cuts.
Edwards, who was elected governor in November, has proposed significant tax increases in addition to budget cuts to make up the shortfall.
According to Jason Droddy, executive director of policy and external affairs for Louisiana State University, students now receiving the award may owe money not covered. A Democrat, Edwards also said he would hear out what the state’s GOP leaders put forth.
Nicholls President Bruce Murphy has said the university would probably declare financial exigency, similar to bankruptcy, and lay off or furlough faculty and staff members if faced with $2.5 million in cuts. Albrecht noted the connection: “I think we’re giving up quite a bit for Lent here”.
LSU recently came close to firing head football coach Les Miles, a move that would have been enormously costly.
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But Edwards is suggesting that if no new money is generated, then college and university campuses won’t have enough money for pay their faculty beginning April 30.
