Louisiana
Louisiana higher education seeks budget increase — but some lawmakers call for restraint
Louisiana higher education leaders asked legislators on Monday to consider giving them more money as many regional universities struggle financially — but some lawmakers argued it’s time for those schools to take a hard look at whether budget cuts are necessary instead.
“We have hundreds of programs that we’ve closed,” Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed said during a Senate Finance Committee meeting. “But if you say to us, we’re not going to be able to provide additional dollars, and you have to flourish within your means — not just survive within your means — then we have to do a couple of things.”
“It will be extremely tight,” she said.
Officials with the Board of Regents say that the current budget is $869 million short of what it considers full funding for higher education in Louisiana. The board is requesting $119 million in additional state general fund money for fiscal year 2026-27.
Reed said enrollment fluctuations, growing athletics department budgets and inflation have contributed to strained resources at some institutions, but did not specify which schools are faring the worst.
She called the circumstances a “perfect storm” for many schools.
“Regional institutions are generally seeing enrollment shifts, population declines and challenges of that sort,” Reed said. “Not going to sugarcoat it, we definitely have some institutions that are struggling.”
If the Legislature does not award the requested higher education funding, Reed said, the Board of Regents will be working with university systems to evaluate which programs can be cut and how they can specialize as institutions. She said leaders could trim degrees that are offered at multiple schools in the same system, for example.
“That is the kind of exercise that we would have to step through if we’re not able to get there,” Reed said.
Some lawmakers said that kind of change may be necessary.
“I think that time is now, I really do,” Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, said. “I think that’s where we are.”
Some lawmakers pressed Reed about budget crises at Louisiana’s smaller public universities, referencing shaky finances at the University of New Orleans — which led the school to be reintegrated into the Louisiana State University system — and the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Some argued they were caught off guard by the scale of the problems.
“We find out our colleges are not just struggling; they’ve been struggling,” Sen. Glen Womack, R-Harrisonburg, said.
Reed said quarterly financial reports submitted by each institution will help keep the Legislature and the public abreast of the financial situations at Louisiana’s colleges and universities.
“When the situation happened with UNO, we had no knowledge of the information, and we looked to the systems to say, we’ve got to do a better job of having real-time data,” Reed said.
WACTH: Louisiana softball HC Alyson Habetz talks tourney play, LSU loss
Hear from UL softball HC Alyson Habetz following a 4-2 week plus an extra innings 2-1 loss vs No. 17 LSU.
Louisiana softball didn’t have the start it hoped for in Sun Belt Conference play, suffering its first series loss of the season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (17-12, 1-2) traveled to Southern Mississippi and were outscored 16-11 in the series, losing one of the three games in run-rule fashion.
“Definitely not what we anticipated, definitely not the standard of Ragin’ Cajun softball,” UL softball coach Alyson Habetz said. “It needs to get better and that starts with me, so we plan to do that and that’s the goal, is to get better.”
On the bright side, the Cajuns’ lone win from the series was a run-rule victory, beating the Golden Eagles 9-1. They’ll look to have that kind of performance in their return to Lamson Park for their second SBC series vs. Texas State, which starts at 6 p.m. March 20.
Louisiana softball looking for some consistency
A big issue for the Cajuns in the series against Southern Miss was their inconsistency in the circle and on defense. They finished the weekend with three errors, the biggest coming in their first game on a pop fly that led to a 6-1 loss on March 13.
“I think it’s just a lack of communication,” Habetz said of the miscue. “I don’t think it’s a mental thing because I think we cleaned it up the next few days, but those things can’t happen. The six runs we gave up on pop ups, that can’t happen.”
Outside of fielding errors, UL’s pitching staff didn’t have the strongest outing against the Golden Eagles. The Cajuns’ best arm was senior Bethaney Noble, who took home the dub in the second game of the series after four innings of work. Noble’s ability to get outs and timely strikeouts will be key against the Bobcats as she serves as a starter and relief pitcher.
Along with Noble, Habetz and her pitching staff will rely on Sage Hoover for more consistency. She leads the staff in strikeouts with 40 on the season but holds a 4-5 record overall on the mound following the SBC opener.
“I believe in all of our pitchers. I believe Bethaney and Sage are the most consistent at throwing strikes, attacking the strike zone,” Habetz said. “I feel like (opponents) watch more film on Sage, anticipating that they’re going to see her and I think hitters are more prepared for Sage. But we also have to play defense too and we have to catch fly balls.”
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana Illuminator) – Another case of fatal chronic wasting disease, a fatal infection that affects animals in the deer family, has been detected in Louisiana outside of the state’s existing prevention areas.
An adult doe caught in January by a hunter in Ouachita Parish tested positive for the disease, which attacks the brains and nervous systems of deer.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Tyler Bosworth issued an emergency declaration Thursday expanding the state’s disease control area to include all of Ouachita Parish and portions of Lincoln, Jackson, Union, Morehouse, Caldwell and Richland parishes. Baiting and feeding deer are restricted within the control area in order to prevent drawing more healthy deer into infected areas.
The disease has slowly expanded into different areas of northern Louisiana after it was first identified in the state in 2022. The count of confirmed infections in Louisiana is now up to 55. One case each has been recorded in Ouachita, Catahoula and Concordia parishes, with the remainder of the cases detected in Tensas Parish.
Chronic wasting disease spreads among deer when an infected animal spreads prions, which are misfolded proteins, through their urine, saliva or feces. Healthy animals can come into contact with the prions through shared soil or water. Symptoms of a sick deer include an emaciated appearance, excessive drool and neurological issues such disorientation.
The disease isn’t known to be transmissible to humans, but institutions including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise against consuming meat from an animal known to have a chronic wasting disease infection.
Testing for chronic westing disease is done primarily through hunters who voluntarily share deer heads with state wildlife officials, who accept them for free at various drop-off locations around Louisiana.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
Copyright 2026 Louisiana Illuminator. All rights reserved.
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