Extend TOPS-Tech to La.’s HBCs
29th February 2016 · 0 Comments
By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Columnist
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ proposed one cent sales tax increase on food and utilities will disproportionally harm Louisiana’s African-American community, yet such a regressive hike on the poorest in the Pelican State may be the only way to plug a third of the $940 million deficit in the three months remaining in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016.
What the sales tax hike will not do is stop large cuts to Louisiana’s overall University System, with Historically Black Colleges and Universities likely bearing the brunt of the reductions. Of the $117 million of cuts proposed by the House Appropriations Committee on February 24, Higher Ed and K-12 public education constitute nearly the majority of the monies subtracted by Chairman Cameron Henry’s budget.
Interestingly, under the current revenue model prevalent in the past few state budgets, Louisiana State University has managed to avoid a real reductions in state funding whereas the Southern University System has endured the brunt of the cuts. The same will occur this year under the proposed budget. The reason can be explained by one acronym—TOPS.
One area protected by Henry’s budget—and Gov. Edwards’ as well, should the sales tax hike pass—is the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students. The proverbial ‘third rail’ of Louisiana politics pays for college tuition for any graduating senior earning at least a 20 on their ACT and a 2.5 grade point average. The threat of canceling these scholarships for the fall semester convinced the nearly overwhelming GOP majority in the State House of Representatives to pass the hike on February 25, despite Republican (and honestly Legislative Black Caucus) misgivings. Still, the one cent increase faces a tough fight in the State Senate this coming week.
Nobody likes taxing food, but the idea that the middle class entitlement could end motivated legislators across the racial lines. The unintended result, however, remains that the protection of TOPS will inadvertently shield LSU from cuts, while the HBCs will bear the brunt. Likewise, the University of Louisiana System will take a hit, but not one as devastating as the fiscal blow that the La. Southern System Colleges will endure.
LSU has kept its funding constant since nearly all of its incoming freshman quality for TOPS, so the percentage of dollars flowing into the Baton Rouge campus from the LA State Budget has remained consistent for the last decade, even though, on paper, LSU has endured budget cuts equal to the other Higher Ed schools.
In contrast, less than a dozen incoming freshman at SUNO last year qualified for TOPS. Southern in Baton Rouge and Grambling can boast of slightly higher numbers, but not by much, and regardless, overall attendance is down at Pelican State HBCUs that rely on tuition to underwrite three-quarters of their operating expenses. (The UL System’s student body falls somewhere between the two.)
Fewer students, and less than a handful on TOPS, has proven a recipe for Historically Black Collegiate bankruptcy.
To give them a leg up, there is a way to provide them with TOPS and equally help the HBCUs survive the latest round of cuts in the long-term. The solution could also provide a solace for Black legislators facing the unpleasant task of hiking sales taxes on the poor—were such an increase linked to a promise to extend TOPS Tech to Historically Black Colleges.
Only 2,000 students currently receive the TOPS Tech Award, far fewer than the program envisioned when passed. As its website describes, “The TOPS Tech Award pays for tuition for skill or occupational training at any schools within the Louisiana Community and technical College System, Louisiana approved Proprietary and Cosmetology Schools or Louisiana Public Colleges and Universities that do not offer a baccalaureate degree.” Moreover, TOPS Tech is predicated upon “The Transfer Degree Guarantee” which “helps students to easily transfer from a two-year or community college to a four-year university in the state of Louisiana. It provides guidance and saves time and money. TDG ensures that a community college student can transfer to a Louisiana 4-year public university and immediately enroll with Junior-level status in most majors.”
The idea is that TOPS Tech not only aids vocational education, but also provides a means for community college students to seamlessly enter into B.A. or B.S. degrees. Not a dollar can go to four-year colleges, though, that wish to start a student on a baccalaureate path from the beginning. HBCU undergraduates at SUNO, Southern, or Grambling need not apply.
A curious choice since the TOPS Tech requirements match the entrance thresholds at those schools, a Minimum High School GPA of 2.50, 19 Tech Core Units, a Minimum ACT Score (or SAT Equivalent) of 17, and a La. residency (for in-state tuition). Add full-time enrollment and the mandate that the award goes to “first time Freshman, by the first semester following the first anniversary of high school graduation,” as the TOPS Tech website explains, and one has the proto-typical student profile at a Louisiana HBCU.
The Southern University System, though, has been treated as no different from LSU, despite its deliberately lower entrance requirements to entice struggling minority students to attend a four-year college.
Because of Republican defections, Gov. Edwards must convince every member of the Legislative Black Caucus in the State Senate (and every Democrat, frankly,) to pass his one penny sales tax increase. For African-American Senators—who adamantly oppose increasing the price of food on their poorer constituents—linking an amendment to TOPS Tech could provide some political cover. Simply, allow HBCUs to serve their special role, and extend TOPS Tech to the Southern System.
As a concession to the mounting deficit, Black La. State Senators could agree to delay the extension of TOPS Tech until after the next fiscal year to stabilize the budget situation, but poorer African Americans should get something in return, eventually, for their sacrifice at the dinner table.
This article originally published in the February 29, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
