To: The Louisiana State House, The Louisiana State Senate, and Governor John Bel Edwards
Our progress as a state can be no swifter than our progress in education
Stop the $608 million in budget cuts, recently proposed by Governor Bobby Jindal, as a reduction in higher education funding in Louisiana. These cuts amount to roughly 80 PERCENT of the operating budget of the University of Louisiana System.
Why is this important?
According to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce entitled The Economy Goes to College, [https://cew.georgetown.edu/report/economygoestocollege/] college-educated workers in America now make 80 percent more on average than workers without a college degree. That's twice the wage advantage of 50 years ago.
The state of Louisiana has reached a tipping point. To allow our public institutions in this state to suffer such catastrophic budget cuts, after the already crippling cuts of 2008-2009 (my Alma Mater the University of New Orleans' state support has already been reduced by $40 million since that time AND THAT'S JUST ONE SCHOOL) will be to "compromise academic quality, further diminish program offerings and limit both educational access and attainment." - University of New Orleans President Peter J. Fos
I agree with the Georgetown study's findings wholeheartedly. We need to be increasing our state's college graduates, not reducing them. As the state ranking second-to-worst not only in education but ALSO in everything from health care conditions to legal climate to gender pay gap our legislature should be doing MORE to make college a viable option for our young people, not LESS.
The study's authors conclude, "Education is not just the preferred path, but increasingly it's the only reliable path to a middle-class life." The surest way to reduce income inequality, to quantifiably stimulate and sustain economic activity in our region, to lose less of our best and brightest to 'brain drain', and to contribute to an enhanced quality of life is through higher education.
Forcing our public universities to file for the equivalent of academic bankruptcy is truly a travesty, especially in light of the hundreds of millions each year wasted on pet projects, special interest groups, and voucher programs for far below sub-par private schools.
Protecting the sanctity of quality higher education, at an affordable rate, is the only way to ensure we advance as a state.
The state of Louisiana has reached a tipping point. To allow our public institutions in this state to suffer such catastrophic budget cuts, after the already crippling cuts of 2008-2009 (my Alma Mater the University of New Orleans' state support has already been reduced by $40 million since that time AND THAT'S JUST ONE SCHOOL) will be to "compromise academic quality, further diminish program offerings and limit both educational access and attainment." - University of New Orleans President Peter J. Fos
I agree with the Georgetown study's findings wholeheartedly. We need to be increasing our state's college graduates, not reducing them. As the state ranking second-to-worst not only in education but ALSO in everything from health care conditions to legal climate to gender pay gap our legislature should be doing MORE to make college a viable option for our young people, not LESS.
The study's authors conclude, "Education is not just the preferred path, but increasingly it's the only reliable path to a middle-class life." The surest way to reduce income inequality, to quantifiably stimulate and sustain economic activity in our region, to lose less of our best and brightest to 'brain drain', and to contribute to an enhanced quality of life is through higher education.
Forcing our public universities to file for the equivalent of academic bankruptcy is truly a travesty, especially in light of the hundreds of millions each year wasted on pet projects, special interest groups, and voucher programs for far below sub-par private schools.
Protecting the sanctity of quality higher education, at an affordable rate, is the only way to ensure we advance as a state.