U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu stopped by ULM President Nick Bruno’s house to discuss ways for ULM to grow despite all the cuts made to higher education in the state.

Landrieu and Bruno talked about ways to grow the local area and to discover the talent that’s available in northeast Louisiana.

She said a boarding school in the area would help foster academic growth for kids who may live in homes that aren’t helpful to a child’s education.

“I think this would be a fantastic idea,” Landrieu said, citing the money that would be saved in the long run and how the area would have more resources to help develop young people into a viable work force.

Landrieu used the SEED schools in Washington, D.C., as examples that could be followed here in Monroe. Those schools are private, college prep schools that serve underserved children in the D.C. area.

Landrieu said she was impressed by the strides ULM has made despite budget cuts heading for a “dangerous level.”

“We can’t run our universities on a wish and a prayer,” she said.

Landrieu said ULM faces growing challenges but that it also has real opportunities for expansion.

Landrieu also answered questions on gun control saying she will remain open to everyone’s opinion on the issue.

Landrieu was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and now serves as the chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Small Business.