Commentary: Legislature should protect TOPS from HB 619 tampering

New Orleans CityBusiness, Jun 6, 2005 by Terry O'Connor

House Bill 619 by state Rep. Joe Salter, D-Florien, would allow universities to increase tuition without the two-thirds approval vote of the Legislature now required.

Removing this necessary check on the power of university officials to raise tuition costs is problematic. Opponents say it could raise tuition costs as much as 60 percent over the next six years.

But the biggest concern with HB 619 is its potential to end the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students.

TOPS costs the state $110 million per year. If tuition costs are allowed to mushroom 10 percent a year, the state will soon be unable to fund its commitment to free college education for deserving Louisianians.

Phyllis Taylor, whose late husband, New Orleans oilman Patrick Taylor, was the driving force in establishing TOPS, is adamantly opposed to any action that endangers TOPS. CityBusiness is, too.

TOPS is working. It's an incentive and an inspiration for thousands of high-school students in our poor state who might otherwise have to defer or abandon any dreams of a college education because they and their parents are unable to pay for it.

TOPS pays tuition for about 5,000 students each year. Since its inception, about 80,000 students have attended college under the program.

HB 619 advocates, including Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie, say the Legislature has become overwhelmed by its TOPS-mandated role in helping set tuitions. Most of the money would fund pay raises for university faculty and help make Louisiana universities more competitive, according to university officials. Savoie says Louisiana is one of only two states where the primary authority for setting tuition still rests with the Legislature.

Yet since it was adopted in Louisiana, 22 states have enacted programs similar to TOPS. When was the last time Louisiana was a trend setter in education?

Dan Kyle, chairman of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said if HB 619 is passed, tuition increases could push TOPS program costs into the $190 million range in six years, which would likely mean capping or scrapping the program. TOPS costs have already far outstripped original projections but the expense appears well justified when considering the widespread participation.

There are also human costs to consider. Phyllis Taylor said eliminating opportunities for average students would amount to punishing students for the state's poor education system.

You can't just educate the best and the brightest and rectify the problems in our state, Taylor said. You have to educate the average students as well. They are the real core of our community.

Higher education is no guarantee of a job or better life but it's as close as it comes. We need to continue to encourage Louisiana students through a fully funded TOPS program.