Higher education is a loser again in Louisiana's latest budget battle - Julia O'Donoghue, The Times-Picayune

Gov. John Bel Edwards and the Louisiana Legislature went to great pains last spring to spare the state's public colleges and university from budget cuts this academic year. And they were successful -- for about five months. Now, the Edwards administration is expected to announce Friday morning (Nov. 18) that higher education will be losing $18 million in funding before the end of the fist semester this year. The cut is part of an overall financial package the governor put together to cope with a $312 million state budget deficit. "Unfortunately, our options are limited, and given the ongoing financial crisis of our state, nothing is painless anymore," said the governor in a written statement released Thursday. The reduction will be spread across all the higher education campuses. http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/11/budget_deficit_plan.html