The budget crisis in Louisiana has called into question the future of the TOPS scholarship program. Halen Doughty reports…
CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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A state health director says Louisiana residents use caution when it comes to the Zika Virus, but they should not be alarmed. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Governor John Bel Edwards urges lawmakers to work with his administration on solving this fiscal year’s 940-million dollar budget deficit. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Louisiana’s budget problems have raised concerns about the future of the state’s taxpayer funded college scholarship known as TOPS. The highly popular program has run into money issues, as the state may not have enough money to fully pay a recipients scholarship. Senate Education Chairman Blade Morrish says the legislature will look at options to control TOPS spending during the regular legislative session….
According to Governor John Bel Edwards, TOPS is only funded at 25% for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, unless the legislature acts to change that, which means fewer scholarships would be awarded next year. Morrish says he believes limiting the amount a TOPS recipient receives might be their best course of action.
Morrish has proposed bill to cap TOPS in the past, and he plans to propose bills on the TOPS issue in the upcoming regular session.
Morrish says if the legislature elects to make dramatic changes to TOPS, they will likely not take effect immediately, because it would be unfair to students who are already counting on the program.
LOSFA has announced they will pay 80% of tuition, and universities will have to absorb the remaining 20%. No students will be billed for the current semester.
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Louisiana’s two largest public school teacher unions, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the Louisiana Association of Educators, announced they are teaming up in an effort to prevent cuts to public school funding. LAE President Debbie Meaux believes they can achieve powerful results by working together…
Meaux says the unions also want to make sure that the accountability and evaluation systems are in place for both students and teachers in Louisiana. Meaux says the unions are afraid the legislature won’t go along with the governor’s plan to increase taxes and public schools could lose funding.
The governor’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1st does not call for a reduction of state funding for public schools and Meaux says the LFT and LAE would like for that to remain the case….
The special legislative session began Sunday and must end by March 9th. Lawmakers will attempt to resolve a 940-million dollar deficit this fiscal year.
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The Zika virus may be cause for caution but not alarm. That’s according to state health director, Doctor Frank Welch, with the state department of health and hospitals. Welch says The Zika virus is transmitted by a certain kind of mosquito that is not active in Louisiana at this time and he says the mosquito borne disease is not harmful to most who get it….
The Zika virus is not new. It has been around since the late 1970s in South America and has since moved into the Caribbean. Two Louisiana residents who recently traveled to the Caribbean, were recently diagnosed with the Zika virus, after complaining about a minor illness. Welch says when people are infected, the illness usually does not last very long.
People travelling to the Caribbean, where the disease is prevalent, should also take extra precautions. Welch says that while the virus is not cause for alarm among most people, pregnant women should take extra precautions.
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Governor John Bel Edwards tells lawmakers that the state can’t cut its way out of its fiscal problems. That’s how a three and a half week long special session got underway last night as Edwards told House and Senate members that some tax increases will be needed to address a 940-million dollar budget deficit this fiscal year…
Many republican lawmakers have already expressed reservations about raising taxes. Edwards says he doesn’t want partisan politics to get in the way of doing what’s right for the state
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Republican West Monroe Senator Mike Walsworth is optimistic the GOP legislature can work with the Democratic Edwards administration on a solution to fixing the state’s budget problems
Walsworth believes there’s some departments in state government that is overspending. The special session must conclude by March 9th and republican Bossier City Representative Mike Johnson wants to use this time to look at ways to reduce spending…
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A big second half helped LSU pick up a quality win at home to help boost its NCAA tournament resume. The Tigers outscored Texas A&M by nine points in the second half to beat the Aggies 76-71. Coach Johnny JOnes says his team executed well in the final 20 minutes of this game…
The victory improves LSU’s overall record to 16-9, 9-3 in the SEC and tied with Kentucky for first place in the league standings. We are about a month away from NCAA Tournament selection Sunday and Coach Johnny Jones says wins like this can help LSU’s at-large bid, but they need to keep piling up victories.
LSU is considered to be on the bubble when it comes to getting in the NCAA Tournament. Jones doesn’t want his team focusing on the tournament projections, instead the team should remain concentrated on getting as many wins as possible…