re: SAVE LSU to be at dome today

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Nobody got back to me with the % of the state budget and grant monies higher education gets... I wonder why?

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A little over 9% (~3 billion). With 3% ($98 mill) OF that 9% being constitutional protected, so 97% of the higher education budget is subjected to cuts.

Departments with a higher amount of budget money:
Executive: $7 billion
Health and Hospitals: $7.9 billion
Dept of Education: $5 billion

Imo, tuition needs to be raised and decrease the number of postsecondary public institutions in the state.

Here's the deal...the administration of LSU Baton Rouge is taking zero personnel cuts....Their unrealistic salaries are obscene...One associate vice chancellor's salary could fund three English instructors. They tend to cut what makes the most noise in the media and creates outcry from the public. It's a political shame that no one in Thomas Boyd Hall really cares about education, only self preservation. I will never give a penny to LSU, nor will I support any tax increase for them as long as the administration operates with such disregard for its fiduciary responsibility for the funds it does receive.

Three departments — the corrections, juvenile justice and military agencies — didn't get budget cuts in Jindal's executive order. But those departments already faced their own shortfalls, and they have to make cuts to close their internal budget gaps.

Louisiana's prisons are increasing their use of technology: substituting cameras for guards in watchtowers and expanding video court proceedings so inmates don't have to leave prison. Prison menus are being standardized so the Department of Corrections can purchase food in bulk, and inmates who got three hot meals a day now can expect a sack lunch for one of those meals.

"We want to assure citizens that the department is identifying efficiencies while continuing to protect our core mission of providing critical public safety services for the people of Louisiana," said Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc.

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In the staff meeting last week, they said more job cuts could come very soon for my office, limited vehicle repairs, no new auto purchases, they are taking supplies away from us, parole boards aren't waiving fees, no new equipment, etc. on top of the cutbacks we have already taken

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every dept at LSU has been doing that for 2 years now. LSU has taken 43 Million in cuts the past 2 years. Now in July if things dont change it'll be 1/3 of the instructors at LSU being laid off because most departments are maxed out in how much more they can cut.

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how much is the budget cuts for the department of correction and public safety?

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According to the budget document which I am perusing:

Corrections: $45 million of a $543 million budget.

Public Safety: $23 million of a $387 million budget.

Now the document I'm looking at is a FY 09-10 budget. So, I would assume it's very very likely they are still cutting more monies from all the depts that are listed here.

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Three departments — the corrections, juvenile justice and military agencies — didn't get budget cuts in Jindal's executive order.

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So you are saying I'm lying? Yeah we have been effected by a massive shortfall and money from our department has been re-allocated. You think an executive order for budget cutbacks is the only way a department can lose money?

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There have been news reports that current year cuts for these two areas could be in the $160 million range for DHH, and the $109 million range for higher education; however, the administration worked to make strategic reductions in every department in order to mitigate the level of reductions in health care and higher education. As a result of these efforts, current year spending reductions for DHH are $118 million, and higher education’s necessary cost-savings measures were reduced by half – down to $55.2 million.

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and why exactly does an education system that funds FIVE major universities for a state population smaller than the city of houston need to be "saved"?

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But the solution is not to keep all 5 universities and slash each budget by deathly amounts.

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Political move and/or short term solution, imo. Just think of the polictical suicide if they actually shut down one of these prestigous universities. It will take a while to actually shut down a university if they decide to. We need to make cuts now, not down the road.

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The Dept of Corrections is as much of a bureaucratic mess as any facet of our government. Quit your bitchin and do your job. I'm paying your salary!

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Wow...maybe you can't read. My department is taking the cuts in stride. Its the higher education jerks who can't take any sacrifices (you also pay their salary btw). Maybe I should stop doing my job and hope you get fricked in the process. I would fricking love that. I'll happily give you your .005 of a cent back that goes toward my salary if you don't want the protections I give. You act like I have a say in the bureaucracy. Keep flipping my burgers son. I most likely pay your salary, too.

LSU's enrollment pre-Katrina was as high as 31,000. LSU now has an enrollment of about 25,000. That's a decrease of 15%. How much has the LSU overall budget decreased from before Katrina to now? After these last round of cuts, LSU's is near or above the budget back when the student population was 31,000.

Maybe LSU DOES need to get rid of some of these instructors and staff to bring the student to staff ratio back into a more manageable/affordable range. There's nothing wrong with becoming a lean running organization, much like thousands of business have had to do in the last year or so. We, people in the private sector, have been dealing with no pay raises, job cuts, increased responsibilities, etc. I don't feel sorry if government workers now have to bite the bullet and experience reality like the rest of us private-sector employees have had to indure.