The group that oversees the $40 million Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy Fund continues to figure out how the money will be handed out to Louisiana’s colleges and universities, a key step in the process.

The WISE Council met Monday and talked about four possible ways to dole out money from the fund, The Advocate reported. The council — made up of leaders in higher education and the workforce sector — will provide the state Board of Regents recommendations on spending.

From the looks of it, either the LSU system or the Louisiana Community and Technical College System could get the biggest chunk of money from the fund, but the WISE Council hasn’t decided that yet. The Board of Regents has come up with outlines for the LSU system to get between $12.7 million and $14.8 million. The LCTCS could get between $11 million and $16 million.

The University of Louisiana system could get anywhere $8 million to $11.6 million from the fund. As much as $2 million from the fund would be available for the Southern University system, according to each of the four discussed plans.

State lawmakers approved the WISE Fund during this year’s regular session in a bill pushed by House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, and later signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal. The fund will help colleges and universities pay for degree programs that are in high demand, such as engineering, computer science and business.

The legislation is critical for McNeese State University and Sowela Technical Community College to pay for boosting those particular degree programs. Southwest Louisiana will need enough engineers and computer science graduates to fill the job opportunities once the $70 billion in industrial projects get underway in the area.

Schools must come up with a 20 percent local match from private interests, like a business, to gain access to WISE funds. But before that can happen, a formula for divvying up the fund must be set up so the schools can apply for the money.

This is something the WISE Council cannot waste time doing, but they have had challenges coming together to discuss how to distribute the money. A meeting set for Aug. 20 was cancelled “because of scheduling conflicts,” The Advocate reported.

The WISE fund is certainly a good thing to help colleges and universities pay for high-demand degree programs, especially after those schools have endured several years of budget cuts. But the issue still remains as to how much of that money each university and college system will get.

Before that formula is decided, the WISE Council members should take into account the skilled workforce needed to fill the billions of dollars worth of announced industrial projects in Southwest Louisiana.(MGNonline)