Louisiana public school enrollment has dropped by 60,000 students over the last decade, according to new analysis from The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Patrick Wall. The decline is a byproduct of the state’s larger issue with outmigration, which is linked to a lack of high-paying jobs. An Advocate editorial explains how fewer students – and less state funding – can ripple through local districts:
Shrinking student counts, therefore, result in lower state funding, which in turn forces school administrators and board members to make tough choices. That often means dropping programs, reducing staff and closing or consolidating schools. The last option is especially complicated when schools — as is true in many rural areas — are rallying points for communities already hard hit by population declines.
While state leaders have poured resources into attracting heavy industry to the state, many of the largest investments have created relatively few jobs:
Wall found, for instance, that even as a major liquefied natural gas facility in Plaquemines Parish brought in thousands of workers, school enrollment continued to shrink. That doesn’t mean that Louisiana should not go for those projects. But we urge state leaders to look at metrics beyond just construction costs and rosy job predictions to ensure that new industries will benefit the communities where they locate from top to bottom, including in schools.
A good starting point would be reexamining Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program. Property taxes provide local governments with revenue that supports public schools. But ITEP can force communities to give up hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax revenue to manufacturing corporations. And these corporations are not even required to create or retain jobs in order to receive the exemptions.
Budget bills move out of House
The Louisiana House advanced a $51 billion proposed budget last week that prioritizes prisons and other mass incarceration efforts. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Julie O’Donoghue reports:
The proposed prison spending includes $36.1 million more for Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, according to budget documents. The increase would cover, among other items, an expansion in the inmate population by 688 people, 150 more staff members and substantially more medical treatment for prisoners. … The budget proposal includes $15.2 million to open a new 56-bed youth prison and hire a staff of 122 at a Vernon Parish building the local sheriff owns.
The state spending plan does not include funding to increase salaries for teachers and support staff:
Gov. Jeff Landry and the legislature are banking on voters to approve Constitutional Amendment #3 on the May 16 ballot before they finalize teachers salaries for the 2026-27 school year. If the amendment passes, teachers and other school staff will see small pay raises of $250 and $125 respectively. The amendment would allow Landry and lawmakers to raise their permanent salaries by $2,250 and $1,125 respectively. But the teachers have already received most of that money through temporary stipends of $2,000 and $1,000 over the past three years.
The federal tax and budget megabill is shifting more costs from Washington to states:
Louisiana could spend an additional $42 million on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps, because the federal government is no longer the state to administer the program. [Appropriations Committee Chair Jack] McFarland said the state has also backfilled $1.5 million for sexual assault victim services after declines in federal funding for those programs over the years.
Educators deserve paid parental leave
Public K-12 teachers and support staff would have access to paid parental leave under legislation that advanced out of a state Senate committee last week. WBRZ’s Jordan Ponzio explains how teachers and some public health advocates are supporting the “Parental Leave for Educators Act” by Sen. Sam Jenkins:
Under current Louisiana policy, teachers must first use their 10 sick days and any accrued leave before qualifying for extended leave, which can only be used once every six years. [Teacher Erika] Musgrove said that system often leaves educators scrambling, especially those who need medical care during pregnancy. “ … Anne Springer Jayes, senior program manager at the Louisiana Public Health Institute, said paid leave could improve both retention and workplace conditions. “Providing paid leave to teachers helps them stay in their jobs long-term, while also boosting workplace morale and productivity,” Jayes said.
Some states don’t report losses from data center tax breaks
At least 14 states, including Louisiana, do not disclose how much revenue they lose through data center tax breaks. That’s according to a new report from Good Jobs First. Stateline’s Kevin Hardy reports:
Good Jobs First said in most cases, states are failing to disclose incentives in violation of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, a private organization that sets financial reporting standards for state and local governments. “No form of state spending is more out of control today than data center tax abatements,” Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First and primary author of the study, said in a news release. “Hyperscale data centers are not only extractive of electricity, water, and land; they are also undermining public budgets.”
Louisiana is also preventing the disclosure of plans to build future data centers. The lack of transparency is the result of elected officials signing nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), which have been widely adopted by Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration.
Number of the Day
45 – Louisiana’s ranking for best states to raise a family. (Source: WalletHub)