The Louisiana Association of School Superintendents is asking for a 1.375% increase in per-pupil state funding for public schools next year. The state’s per-pupil funding amount has increased by less than $600 in the past 20 years. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Patrick Wall explains how the the Minimum Foundation Program formula has failed to keep up with inflation:
In the past, the state raised that baseline funding by as much as 2.75% annually to keep up with inflation, but the annual raises mostly stopped after the 2008 Great Recession. The amount has increased just twice since then, to its current $4,015 per student. Doris Voitier, the longtime superintendent of the St. Bernard Parish school system who helped develop the state’s school-funding model, said funding was intended to keep up with inflation. Instead, costs have risen sharply — including salaries and benefits, property insurance, building materials and technology for students — but per-student state aid has barely budged
Local school districts and the state share the financial obligation for funding public education. When state support is stagnant, it places a bigger burden on local school districts and communities to raise the money necessary to meet the needs of their students, which creates funding discrepancies between high-and low-income districts:
Under the formula, Louisiana’s highest-poverty districts receive about 17% more state aid per student than wealthier districts, according to an analysis by EdTrust, a national group that advocates for more resources for underserved students. However, when local revenue is factored in, wealthier districts end up with about 8% more total funding per student. Tramelle Howard, EdTrust’s Louisiana state director, said the formula’s power to close the gap between districts and ensure schools can meet students’ needs depends on how much money the state puts into the formula.
Impacts of Medicaid work reporting requirements
About 21,000 Louisianans will lose their Medicaid coverage because of new, strict work reporting requirements that were included in the federal tax and budget megabill. That’s according to a new analysis from the state Department of Health. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Emily Woodruff explains how the department’s numbers are much lower than national estimates:
In an analysis released in April, the Urban Institute estimated up to 132,000 adults in Louisiana would lose Medicaid under work requirements. National estimates from the Congressional Budget Office said the requirements would result in 4.8 million people without health insurance by 2034. [Urban Institute researcher Michael] Karpman said the work requirement will result in people who still qualify losing coverage because of stricter paperwork policies. “Many people are projected to lose coverage even though they are working or or could potentially qualify for an exemption,” Karpman said.
Many people lose Medicaid coverage because of bureaucratic or paperwork issues, not because they’re ineligible. The state is taking steps to stop eligible people from losing their health care:
[Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health Bruce] Greenstein said the state is trying to stop that from happening through automation. But it’s not clear how many people might drop off who still qualify, he said. “We don’t know the answer, to tell you the truth, and it’s concerning,” Greenstein said. “We worry about everyone on the program.” Officials said more detailed information about how the program will work will be released over the next year as the state prepares for its start in January.
The federal megabill cuts Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars over the next decade. Some of the spending reductions will be achieved through the new work reporting requirements, which will be used to partially pay for tax breaks that will benefit wealthy people and large corporations.
More funding for successful workforce training program
Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed updated state lawmakers on Monday about the success of the M.J. Foster Promise Program, which helps people from low- and moderate-income households train for jobs in high-demand occupations at Louisiana community colleges. The LSU Manship School News team reports:
Reed said the initiative has quickly become one of Louisiana’s most popular workforce developments. She said it is an effective way to meet the governor’s goal of moving dependents into independent workers. … Education officials estimate students who complete programs through the MJ Foster initiative see an average salary increase of about $36,000, signaling a strong return on investment for both individuals and the state’s workforce.
The M.J. Foster Program has proven to be more popular than expected. The Legislature allocated $10.5 million for the program in 2024, but funding ran out less than halfway through the fiscal year. State lawmakers ultimately added another $7.5 million to M.J. Foster using money that was unspent from 2023, the first year of the program. More funding could be on the way:
To keep up with demand, the governor’s executive budget proposal includes $14.5 million in additional funding for the fiscal year starting July 1. If approved, that increase would raise the program’s total funding to roughly $25 million. Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, praised the program as one of Louisiana’s success stories. Edmonds believes Louisiana can “lead the nation in workplace alignment.”
More oversight for Louisiana’s child welfare agency
Legislation by Sen. Regina Barrow that seeks to abolish the Department of Children and Family Services and transfer its duties to other state agencies stalled on Tuesday in the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare. But as the Louisiana Illuminator’s Greg LaRose reports, senators share her concerns about ongoing problems at the beleaguered agency and called for more oversight:
If the compromise requires new legislation, it has to be filed before the March 31 deadline for lawmakers to introduce new bills. Another option would be for Barrow to submit a substitute for her current proposal, which she said she was open to considering. … Sens. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, and Katrina Jackson-Andrews, D-Monroe, told [DCFS Secretary Rebecca] Harris they would be willing to support Barrow’s legislation as is unless the secretary commits to working with Barrow on substantial changes for the department.
Number of the Day
$680 million – Estimated cost of replacing nearly 34 miles of water mains, which are more than 100 years old, in New Orleans. (Source: New Orleans Sewage and Water Board)