The Paper Trail

Louisiana State Could Lose 2,000 Employees Next Year

February 5, 2009 RSS Feed Print

If the cuts announced by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal do occur next year, officials from the Louisiana State University system worry that 2,000 employees might be laid off, the Daily Reveille reports. The state could slash between 18 and 30 percent of higher education's budget in the next fiscal year.

"It would be a blow not only to all of us who are associated with the campus but a major loss to the state, since LSU provides such a significant contribution to the state and regional economic development," said LSU system President John Lombardi. "We would also see many programs of high quality seriously compromised, and some might have to be eliminated altogether."

For the entire system, the worst-case scenario (a 30 percent cut) would reduce the budget by $208.8 million.