1 / 16

SOWELA, Southwest Louisiana, and Economic Expansion: Great Expectations for Academe

SOWELA, Southwest Louisiana, and Economic Expansion: Great Expectations for Academe. Barry Humphus SOWELA Technical Community College barry.humphus@sowela.edu. The HERD Act. Higher Education Revenue District - HERD

ivo
Download Presentation

SOWELA, Southwest Louisiana, and Economic Expansion: Great Expectations for Academe

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. SOWELA, Southwest Louisiana, and Economic Expansion: Great Expectations for Academe Barry Humphus SOWELA Technical Community College barry.humphus@sowela.edu

  2. The HERD Act Higher Education Revenue District - HERD Kevin Cope knows that you can herd neither faculty nor cats. The college leaders here today know that as well. The HERD Act rounds up some money for our colleges and universities. It means the reliable, stable and predictable funding we need.

  3. Higher Education Revenue Districts There are 8 Regional Management Districts in Louisiana. Each has more than one college or university. Each Management Region has a taxable property Base. Each Region could partially support our Colleges And Universities with an ad velorem tax (i.e., a Property tax).

  4. Show Me the Money “If higher education is a priority in our state, the level of investment must reflect that. We need stability in funding and some predictability.” W. Clinton “Buba” Rasberry, Chairman, Board of Regents, September 9, 2013.

  5. Louisiana Management Regions (in millions) $28.9 $12.3 $8.6 $44.3 $14.2 $50.8 $28.5 At 5 mills (2012) $22.1

  6. The Louisiana Colleges and Universities Louisiana State University System (7 Locations) Southern University System (4 Locations) University of Louisiana System (9 Locations) Louisiana Community and Technical College System (13 Comprehensive Community College Locations)

  7. Recent History of Funding In 2007, Louisiana colleges and universities received $1.7 billion in funding from the State. State budget cuts to higher education have been more than $700 million since 2007. We are in effect, privatizing our public colleges and universities with tuition increases. As House Speaker Kleckly suggests, we need some alternatives. Let us explore this.

  8. Invention of New Solutions “I’m calling for the invention of new solutions from the very institutions that (are) teaching innovation in the classrooms.” House Speaker Rep. Chuck Kleckley – 08-13-2013 And Why not!

  9. Invention of New Solutions “I’m calling for the invention of new solutions from the very institutions that (are) teaching innovation in the classrooms.” House Speaker Rep. Chuck Kleckley – 08-13-2013 And Why not!

  10. The Revenue Potential Representative Chris Broadwater proposed HB 576 during the 2013 legislative session that suggested an alternative solution. This was close to our original alternative solution. Let us see the numbers and how this would impact Louisiana colleges and universities. Mr. Broadwater’s bill died in committee.

  11. The Money HB 576 suggested a $160 million cap supporting colleges and universities in the State based on tax roles for 2012. Why cap this stable and predictable revenue stream? That number will increase as values of property increase. Consider Region 5 going from about $5 billion taxable property value now to nearly $48 billion in value in five years. What is your Region doing? You should look this up and ask your area folks and ask your Tax Assessor this value. HERD is stable, it is predictable and it is reliable. Predictable is the key. Should we have predictable, stable and reliable revenue, whatever the source, that is good. HB 576 is only a start.

  12. What are the numbers (2012)? At 5 mills the HERD Act generates $160 million now. This will grow. As our taxable property base grows, the revenue will grow. That is why it is predictable and stable. Here are the numbers (in thousands): 1 Mill 2 Mills 3 Mills 4 Mills 5 Mills Region 1 – $10,159 $20,318 $30,477 $30,636 $50,795 Region 2 – $8,868 $17,736 $26,604 $35,472 $44,340 Region 3 – $4,422 $8,844 $13,267 $17,689 $22,112 Region 4 – $5,705 $11,411 $17,116 $22,822 $28,527 Region 5 – $2,844 $5,589 $8,533 $11,377 $14,222 Region 6 – $1,687 $3,375 $5,062 $6,749 $8,467 Region 7 – $5,795 $11,590 $17,385 $23,180 $28,975 Region 8 – $2,460 $4,921 $7,381 $9,842 $12,302

  13. A Look at Region 5 The HERD Act would generate about $14 million (based on 2012 tax roles) in Region 5 at 5 mills. McNeese – would receive about $10 million SOWELA – would receive about $4 million “The purpose of the university is to provide more sex for the students, more sports for the alumni and parking for the faculty” – Dr. Clark Kerr, Univ. of California, Chancellor, 1957.

  14. What Should You Do? Privately contact your State legislators and suggest that they should support the HERD Act or an alternative. Contact councils, police jurors, and media. Look at the Chris Broadwater’s legislation at http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=835525 While Mr. Broadwater’s legislation was not exactly what I suggested, it was pretty close. But it should not be capped! The idea is simple. Ask stakeholders to support your college. Should they not want to support this – fine. Those folks will deal with the consequences of the lack of a workforce. If your students and your workforce area want to succeed, HERD needs support.

  15. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Bad – The money cap (see HB 576 2013). Good – State-wide district (possibly by Management Region). Bad – Limits to how and what can be funded (e.g. Act 391). Good – No athletics funded (sorry Coach Miles). Bad – No construction funded – well maybe. Good – Academics a priority. Bad – No academic support staff included. Ugly – Little or no support for the idea.

  16. Fini Questions Comments Suggestions

More Related