<blockquote><p align=justify><b> University of Louisiana expects to spend about $1M on major building repairs. </b>
LOUISIANA La. — About 42 percent of the University of Louisiana’s $107 million budget comes out of students’ pockets, according to the university’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
The university submitted its budget draft for the Louisiana Board of Regents’ approval at its meeting in August.
About $45.2 million of the school’s budget is self-generated, with about $41.1 million of it coming from students’ registration and fees. The other $4 million comes from other fees, such as library fines and parking tickets.
The state rounded out the rest, pitching in about $62.1 million, more than was expected before the legislative session ended in the spring.
While UL Lafayette President Ray Authement had thought the budgeting process would mean squeezing out about $3.4 million, the additional support from the state and students patched the hole. Even without an expected deficit, there were still tough calls to make, said Ronnie Lajaunie, UL Lafayette assistant vice president of financial services.
“The challenge was deciding how to spend the money we had,” Lajaunie said.
Lajaunie said he and Authement worked out the details of the budget.
The budget is $5.39 million more compared to last year. But much of the additional money in this year’s budget has been directed toward salaries and increases in retirement contributions to the state.
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The university expects to spend about $1 million on major building repairs. The university had hoped that a planned renovation and addition for Burke-Hawthorne Hall would begin, but the project has been put on hold, said William Crist, UL Lafayette physical plant manager. The state approved the project, but the funds aren’t there, Crist said.
“There’s a possibility that addtional funds could become available mid-year,” Crist said. “We’re hoping there will be another window for opportunity. We’re hoping for mid-January.”
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The hall is home to the communications department, communicative disorders, campus radio station, KRVS and the performing arts department’s theatre and scene shop. The renovations call for a new 30,000 square foot addition to the building, where KRVS will move its operations, said Karl Fontenot, station chief engineer. Fontenot’s office is in a hallway.
“We are sorely lacking space since the station has grown so much,” Fontenot said. “We have been anxiously awaiting this for a long time.”
The project is ready for bid and has priority, Crist said.
“The hold-up is lack of money,” Crist said.
The capital outlay expenses total about $5.8 million with about $1.2 million directed toward library materials and about $3.2 million toward education and recreational machinery and equipment.
The university expects to pay about $2.9 million more, or $76.8 million, on salaries and related expenses.
Because the university wasn’t juggling a deficit, Authement decided to make last year’s temporary earned salary supplementpermanent in this year’s budget.
Authement had said he’d make the room in the budget by freezing open nine full-time faculty positions and splitting about six faculty slots into 20 adjunct faculty positions. The hiring freeze frees about $900,000, according to Authement.
The university budgeted $2.15 million for contributions to the state’s retirement. The school will pay $6.27 million toward teacher retirement, which equals about $879,000 more than last year.
Initially, the Legislature covered nearly half the school’s expected $3.4 million shortfall, but a hole of nearly $1.3 million remained. Statewide, higher education funding was about $17.7 million short.
To fill the gap, the Legislature accepted the Louisiana Board of Regents’ suggestion to allow management boards to impose a 4 percent tuition increase, dubbing it an operational fee.
Students at UL Lafayette will pick up the slack, paying a total of $1.67 million more, according to the proposed budget.
The university expects to generate about $31.5 million in student registration alone. The number is about $1.59 millionmore than last year because of a 3 percent tuition increase approved by the Legislature.
About another $4 million is paid into the general fund from other fees, ranging from library fines at $25,000 to parking fines at $250,000 and grant support with $370,000.
By the numbers through 2002
Actual for 2002-03 — $93,442,439
Budgeted for 2003-04 — $101,927,128
Proposed for 2004-05 — $107,319,082
UL Lafayette has turned in a $107,319,082 budget to the Louisiana Board of Regents for its approval. Below is a breakdown giving examples of funding sources and some expenditures.
Where it’s coming from
Total state funds — $62,122,903
Self-generated funds — $45,196,179
Where it’s going
Personal services — $76,847,983
(salaries, benefits, etc.)
Capital outlay — $5,840,793 (Includes $1,203,000 library acquisitions)
Student services — $3,625,151
Libraries — $3,743,213
Travel — $627,746
Plant operations/maintenance — $11,493,461
(Note: Not all expenditures are listed.)
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