State Rep. Thomas
Carmody’s HB
87 would have removed the requirement that the Legislature must approve of
all tuition and fee increases by two-thirds majorities. Louisiana
is the only state that has such a requirement, where the only exception to
it is if institutions achieve stated goals approved by the Board of Regents they
may raise these up to 10 percent for the next year. It needed a two-thirds vote
to proceed as it required amending the Constitution to remove the additional
burden on tuition increases.
But it drew support of only a little more than half of those present
and voting,
and not even half of the seated membership. Mostly Republicans voted for it and
most Democrats against, with two interesting variations. Several black
Democrats from the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas voted for it, possibly to
assist the Southern University System schools in these communities. Several
Republicans voted against it, almost all aligned with if not more vocal members
of the Louisiana Budget Reform
Campaign, perhaps as a tactic to enable better crisis creation; by closing
off this avenue of higher education revenue, it might magnify the deleterious
effects of a fiscal structure that makes higher education funding especially
vulnerable, increasing the appeal of their reform agenda.
Some opponents argued vacuously about how this would allow tuition to
go too “high” and thereby decrease access to higher education. But this view displays
ignorance about the relative bargain Louisiana tuition always has been, still
among the lowest of all states and which pays a relatively smaller portion
of total higher education. In 2009-10 (the most current year of federal
statistics are available), comparing the input of government (directly
through state appropriation and indirectly through grants from state and the
federal government, which includes loans) and that of tuition and fees, nationally
about 37 percent of that total came from the latter. In Louisiana
for that year, it was just 27 percent. This year is it budgeted at a much
higher proportion, where these are about 47 percent, but other states also have
been raising that proportion as well.
This means that Louisiana still probably has tuition and fees pay for a
smaller proportion of revenues to fund higher education than most states, and
therefore there’s room for tuition to increase. Nor would a potential increase
affect materially access. Already, since it permits even decidedly average
students to qualify, the Taylor Opportunity Program for Scholars pays for
tuition for about a fifth of all students. Additional grant opportunities also
exist, where the average Louisiana tuition and fees costs still remain well below
the maximum federal award. Student loans remain inexpensive. And besides this, asking
students to take up a greater share of their educations gives them a greater
sense of purpose that should increase their performance levels.
Had all Republicans and black Democrats been present and voted for the
bill, it would have cleared the needed margin by several votes. The reality is
passage looks impossible for this session. But another measure might salvage helpful
reform for higher education fiscal matters in spite of this result.
SB
117 by state Sen. Conrad Appel would
create a commission to study how to link better funding and performance, this
body being comprised of higher education officials, faculty members, members
outside of higher education, and a union representative. It is linked to SB
118 by Appel, which then would have the Board of Regents and university
systems follow the formula created by commission, although the Legislature
would not have to do the same in the way it actually subsequently appropriated.
The bill specifies that the formula would take an outcome-based
approach, be instituted, and reviewed periodically for alterations by the
Regents. It is considered a way to more closely tie funding to performance than
the current legislation that ties it only to the tuition increases, and
hopefully could produce a formula that decreases
potential gamesmanship.
After easily
passing the Senate, with opposition only from Democrats where most black
Democrats voted against it, without any debate the vote
came in the House. It got 52 in favor and 42 against, but because one half of
the seated membership of 105 must vote to pass, it fell one vote short. Again,
mostly Republicans voted for and Democrats against, but this time fewer of the
hardcore budget “hawks” on the GOP side voted against and only one black
Democrat voted in favor. Afterwards in essence the bill was put into stasis for
the time being and SB 118 not even brought up for a vote as a result.
But as there were 11 absentees for the vote, bill handler in the House
state Rep. Steve
Carter should try again, and SB 118 should be close to passage as well given
that its Senate vote
actually got state Sen. Greg Tarver
to switch from his opposition to SB 117 with the remainder of votes being the
same between the two. There’s nothing to lose with trying to come up with a
formula that validly links performance to outcomes that the Legislature
essentially may use optionally, and much to gain by making sure there is
increased accountability and incentives for efficiency in delivering higher
education.
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