The state Legislature steered $20 million from a federal anti-poverty grant to a politically connected company that promises to turn around struggling public schools. But some school districts around the country were left with buyer’s remorse after making similar deals with New Orleans-based Star Academy. The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Frosch and Scott Calvert explain how the for-profit company uses federal funding intended for low-income families:
Much of the money for Star Academy comes from federal funding streams such as [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families], which gives states wide latitude on how to help poor families. States spend billions of TANF dollars each year, often directing funds to a variety of programs and companies. There is little federal oversight, and minimal reporting requirements on whether such programs work, which has fueled criticism that TANF is a “slush fund” for states.
The company’s claims of success don’t match up with reality:
On a Nevada public-television show in 2024, [CEO John] Alvendia claimed Star Academy lifted the graduation rate at [Chicago’s Rich Township High School District 227] from 13% to 78%. In a 2025 charter school application, NOLA Education and a Louisiana nonprofit it was working with repeated the claim. The Rich Township school spokesman disputed the assertion, saying, “Those percentages are not accurate.”
Alvendia has an ally in Gov. Jeff Landry, who proposed another $20 million for Star Academy in next year’s budget:
Over the years, Alvendia and NOLA Education have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Louisiana politicians, records show. Last year, Landry appointed him to the governor’s Higher Education Reform Task Force.
Louisiana’s energy boom was a bust
Louisiana has experienced stagnant job growth and population loss over the last decade, despite $90 billion in capital investments in the energy and manufacturing sectors, with more on the way. That’s according to a landmark new report from The Data Center. Halle Parker of Verite News reports:
The state also experienced 30% more toxic spills in the same timeframe, and state residents suffered poor health outcomes — high rates of heart attacks, lung disease, strokes and serious pregnancy complications — likely related, in part, to pollution. … After her team saw that job growth was flat over the last decade, she said the population loss was “no surprise.” “But big surprise that we’re not growing jobs given this massive investment,” [[Data Center Chief Demographer Alison Plyer] said.
Louisiana gives up vital property tax revenue, which could be used to support schools, roads and law enforcement, in exchange for a lot of pollution and few permanent jobs:
Louisiana’s generous Industrial Tax Exemption Program no longer requires job creation or retention under an executive order from Gov. Jeff Landry, and most facilities that participate in the program are only required to pay 20% of their property taxes for 10 years. “ When we don’t make them pay property taxes, that is a gift we’re giving to the shareholders of that corporation,” [Invest in Louisiana Executive Director Jan] Moller said. “ If somebody’s gonna come in to your community and make a massive investment into a plant that will produce a lot of pollution then they should at least pay the property taxes on that investment.”
Abolishing DCFS is not the answer
Senate Bill 462 by Sen. Patrick McMath seeks to abolish the Department of Children and Family Services and transfer its duties to the Louisiana Department of Health. Veteran child advocate Rick Wheat, the longtime leader of the Methodist Children’s Home who now directs the Center for Child Well-being, writing in a letter to The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate, explains why this move could return Louisiana to a dark past:
In the 1970s, Louisiana’s child welfare services were hidden inside the precursor to LDH, the Department of Health and Human Resources. Unlike today, child welfare services were invisible, lacking the oversight they currently receive from the Legislature and the attention of the press. Without oversight, Louisiana placed hundreds of children in substandard settings in other states, particularly Texas. Children in the care and custody of the state of Louisiana were harmed in other states, often without anyone in Louisiana knowing their location or the details of what occurred. See Gary W. vs. the State of Louisiana for the sad history.
New focus on split-jury verdicts
The Louisiana Senate Judiciary Committee advanced legislation on Tuesday that would create a five-member panel to review cases of people convicted by non-unanimious juries. In 2018, Louisiana voters overwhelmingly overturned a Jim Crow-era law that allowed people to be convicted of crimes by non-unanimous juries. In the ensuing years, both the U.S. Supreme Court and Louisiana Supreme Court ruled the change should only apply to future cases. Bernard Smith of The Lens explains why some lawmakers and advocates feel Senate Bill 215 falls short:
Sen. Royce Duplessis, one of the votes against the bill, has tried in past years to introduce legislation to address split-jury cases. So his vote against the bill was not an easy objection, he said. But he couldn’t support it because of constitutional concerns and because of a lack of backing from advocates of those serving unconstitutional sentences. “Those who are most impacted by this don’t support it,” he said. Herman Evans, who spent 37 years imprisoned on a 10-2 verdict, gave voice to that opposition in committee. “Man, this bill ain’t gonna be right. It ain’t gonna do nothing,” Evans said.
Voters Organized to Educate, a nonprofit organization that advocates for changes to the criminal legal system, is supporting other legislation aimed at tacking split-jury verdicts:
HB 219 gives people with unconstitutional verdicts a chance at a sentencing hearing. It’s considered a compromise bill. “HB 219 keeps the guilty verdict, but allows for re-sentencing hearings — or a new trial if the D.A. chooses,” said Bruce Reilly of VOTE, who called it “a reasonable bill for the legislature and people of all parties to support.” The second bill, HB 532, is a constitutional amendment for Louisiana voters, who could cast ballots to give everyone with a proven non-unanimous verdict an opportunity for a new trial.
Number of the Day
$3.65 – The average price for a regular gallon of gas on April 23 in Louisiana. (Source: AAA)