Louisiana House speaker says he wants higher education leaders to devise new ideas for college funding - MELINDA DESLATTE Associated Press

House Speaker Chuck Kleckley urged higher education leaders Monday to offer lawmakers new ideas for financing Louisiana's public college campuses after six years of budget cuts. leckley, R-Lake Charles, said lawmakers need innovative ideas and vision from officials with the four university systems to stop the bleeding on campuses and to stabilize funding for the schools. "I'm calling for the invention of new solutions from the very institutions that (are) teaching innovation in the classrooms," he told the Press Club of Baton Rouge. "Without stable and predictable funding, our universities and our state will simply not be prepared to face the future realities of the job market." Gov. Bobby Jindal and lawmakers have stripped $690 million in state funding from higher education since 2008, a 48 percent reduction, according to data from the Board of Regents. http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/b53c2623e79c42038037202dadfac81d/LA--House-Speaker-Budget