LSU Chief: Relabel Students for Money

Looking at this morning newspaper I saw a story that I can’t improve on so I’ll simply quote it. It was in The Advocate of Baton Rouge.

First a bit of background. The State’s economy has been hit had by a series of events going back to levees breaking (and having a governor from the “wrong ” party in office at the time), economies tanking, oil well blowing out (and, again, governor is from the other “wrong” party in office at the time). Well with permits withheld in the oilfield and bad press hurting seafood and tourism, the governor, Jindal has been paring  the budgets of health care and higher education with an axe instead of knife. He has also floated the sale of state assets.

LSU has absorbed cuts over the last two years plus $46 million projected for the next fiscal year totaling over $88 million! Michael Martin is chancellor of LSU who has had to try maintaining a Tier I school on a starvation diet. Meanwhile, the Jindal administration is now seeking to sell three state prisons to alleviate budget gaps, in Avoyelles, Winn and Allen parishes hoping to generate up to $90 million.

Here is the story:

LSU chief: Relabel students for money

LSU Chancellor Michael Martin has an idea inspired by Jindal’s plan to sell some of the state’s prisons, even if the proposal is only meant in jest.

Martin suggested at a forum last week that LSU label its students as “prisoners” and collect an extra $27,000 per person in annual state support to help offset budget cuts.

The flagship university could be called “LSU A&M & Penal Colony,” he said.“While that may not sell well across the country, it would certainly be lucrative,” Martin said.