Next Higher Education Commissioner Will Make $275,000

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Lawmakers have set a $275,000 salary package for Louisiana's next higher education commissioner. The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget agreed without objection Friday to the pay plan, which is a drop from the $425,000 annual salary package given to the previous commissioner. The Board of Regents has hired a national search firm to sift through possible candidates for the higher education commissioner job. But the firm had yet to offer applicants any idea how much the job will pay while Regents sought approval from lawmakers. Regents recommended the $275,000 salary, saying it was aware of state budget troubles. The state has been without a higher education commissioner since July, when Sally Clausen resigned after being sharply criticized for quietly retiring from her job and then being rehired without telling Regents.