All phases of education fared well at this year’s legislative session, but it’s going to take a few years to get all of them back to where they need to be. Drastic budget reductions over a decade were especially tough on higher education because it shifted the cost burdens for colleges and universities from the state to students and families.

Jay Dardenne, state commissioner of administration, talked about the status of higher education after meeting with the Louisiana Board of Regents to discuss budget proposals for 2020, according to a report in The Advocate.

Higher education experienced 16 budget cuts over 10 years, many of them mid-year budget cuts that are difficult to manage. Dardenne said he doesn’t think there are going to be any mid-year budget cuts this year.

“It went from being cut every year to not being cut in our first two years and being plussed up in our third year,” Dardenne said. “So it is clearly better than it has been for the past decade. It is not where we want it to be, but we are making progress.”

The Associated Press reported in June that this year’s budget debates were “a far cry” from prior legislative sessions when the TOPS tuition program was on the chopping block. State aid for colleges and universities grew by $47 million for the budget year that began July 1.

F. King Alexander, president of LSU, back in May, said, “We are grateful to the Louisiana House of Representatives for their votes today to stabilize higher education’s funding and even manage to make some investments. We’ve been working hard, telling our story and sharing the long-term benefits of higher education.”

Dardenne said institutions won’t get operating funds from the expected $500 million surplus in this year’s budget, but will get help in the capital outlay budget for deferred maintenance. Surpluses have to be used for one-time expenditures, and there are millions needed for college and university building maintenance.

Increased financial aid for higher education was made possible when Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature eventually came together and approved a seven-year 0.45 percent increase in the state sales tax that has made it possible to increase funding for higher education, K-12 education and childhood education.

As one spokeswoman said, the emphasis on improving all phases of education represented a big win for families in the state. She added that came because of a unified voice from business, education, nonprofit organizations and citizen advocates.

New emphasis on education is the best way to lift Louisiana off the low end of so many state rankings.