Louisiana's state budget woes have been at the forefront of the state's news for a while now. College students around the state gathered to voice their dismay of the possibility of approximately $300 million dollars being taken from higher education. After numerous rallies, protests, meetings, and calls (or letters) to members of the state legislature, the budget was scrutinized by many. State Representative Stephen Ortego, an open critic of Governor Jindal, openly spoke out against the budget proposal. Ortego stated that the state should not place its budget issues "on the backs of young people." The final higher education cut is approximately $211 million.
After the cut, many higher education institutions went to the state legislature hoping for more leeway in raising tuition costs. Schools are allowed a maximum increase of 10% in tuition and fees. Anything further must be approved by the state. The state did not approve the schools' request, leaving the University of Louisiana schools with no choice but to raise tuition and fees the maximum of 10%.
This 10% rise in tuition matters because of Louisiana's Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS). This program covers a student's tuition. Some levels of the program also offer a stipend. This program became law in 1989. Although TOPS, previously referred to as the Taylor Plan, underwent a few changes since its adoption, the basis remains the same: pay for a student's tuition.
Presently, the money for the TOPS Program comes from the state. This means that the state is covering a student's tuition if he or she meets the TOPS requirements. This leaves student's asking one question: What's the point of cutting higher education and raising tuition if the state is still paying?
This specific Louisiana budget issue would be different if there was not a state funded program that pays for the tuition of college students. TOPS goes hand in hand with the amount of money a student has to pay for college. Dr. Pearson Cross, a political science professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, stated that this will continue to be an issue until the ties between the two begin to loosen.
The only positive solutions in sight are a cap on the amount of money TOPS puts towards a student's given tuition or changing the requirements a student must meet to receive TOPS. These solutions may seem negative, but the only other solution would be to cut TOPS completely. Cutting TOPS completely would give a detrimental blow to the amount of Louisiana high school students that go on to pursue a degree. Louisiana was ranked the 13th poorest state by WalletHub for its list of 2014 Richest and Poorest States.
