The latest installment from the Louisiana Survey shows residents are firmly behind the teacher pay raises that the governor and other legislators are pushing for in the legislative session. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”
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The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services says the food stamp program could be cut, if the state agency does not see a 13 million dollar funding increase. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Aspiring law enforcement officers may soon have to go through additional training for motorcyclist profiling awareness. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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The latest installment of the Louisiana Survey shows there is strong support for teacher pay raises among residents, with 88% backing the pay bump. Giving educators a pay raise is the governor’s top legislative priority. Director of LSU’s Public Policy Research Center Dr. Mike Henderson says the legislature will likely fall in line with public opinion.
Cut 4 (06) “…raising teacher pay.”
More than 90% of Democrats and Independents support the pay hike, as do 80% of Republicans.
When asked about raising taxes to fund the teacher pay increase, support dropped to 63%. Henderson says the support changed in the phrasing of the question.
Cut 5 (07) “…support is lower.”
About three-quarters of residents believe teachers are being paid less than they are, thinking the average is around $38,000, where in reality the average is $50,000. But when the question was asked after being told how much teachers make, Henderson says it had no effect on the response for a raise.
Two-thirds of residents have either a good deal or very great deal of confidence in the state’s public school teachers.
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It’s University of Louisiana System day at the State Capitol, and over a thousand students will pack the lawn to call attention to the needs of the 92,000 students studying at one of nine system colleges. U-L System President Jim Henderson says this year’s event is certainly more upbeat than last year’s…
The system is comprised of Southeastern, Northwestern, ULM, UL Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, Grambling, McNeese, Nicholls, and UNO.
Henderson says Northwestern and Louisiana Tech are showing record numbers of enrollees, and Henderson says UNO, which joined the UL system in 2011, is set to have it’s largest incoming class in a decade…
The system President says he plans to highlight the 8.8 billion dollar impact UL system grads have on the state’s economy, and the 10.9 billion dollar total economic impact of the nine system schools, along with a new transparency tool that highlights UL’s cost-effectiveness.
The day will feature four events starting at 11AM, including a McNeese cow roping demonstration at 1145 AM.
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The Department of Children and Family Services says they need a 13 million dollar funding increase over the current fiscal year to meet their budget needs, or the food stamps program could be shut down.
Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says the department is seeing increased expenses and the only program that could absorb millions in reductions is SNAP.
The House budget being worked on currently does not include any funding increase for DCFS.
SNAP is not the only program under DCFS, but Walters says most of them draw federal matching funds, so any cuts would just cost more money, and others, like Child Welfare Services have been trimmed to the bone.
Walters acknowledged that DCFS does have a few million that has yet to specifically be dedicated, but that’s being set aside as disaster relief money, and cutting disaster relief in the summer is asking for trouble during hurricane season.
Walters made the statements at a House Appropriations Committee meeting.
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Legislation in the House is bringing attention to law enforcement profiling of motorcycle riders. Many Representative Frank Howard says bikers in various organizations have said it has become an issue. Howard is sponsoring a bill that would add a 30 minute motorcyclist profiling awareness session to the training academy.
Cut 13 (08) “…over the state.”
Howard says despite the dedication that many motorcyclists have to their community, often they are on the receiving end of profiling from police.
Cut 14 (08) “…a lot of things.”
Some law enforcement agencies in the state already have profiling awareness as part of their training. Howard says he doesn’t believe asking for the extra time in training is asking all that much, but says he could foresee some opposition.
Cut 15 (11) “…different organizations.”
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The Pelicans season is now over and for the first off season since 2012 the team is not planning on how to build a winner around All-Star forward Anthony Davis, who demanded a trade earlier in the season. Since that trade demand, the Pelicans fired their general manager, so Locked on Pelicans host Jake Madison says the team’s first move will be finding a replacement with a vision for the future.
After they nab their new GM, he’ll be tasked with navigating what will likely be the biggest blockbuster NBA trade of the decade. The Boston Celtics, and their cadre of young talents like Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown appear to be Brow front runners, but Madison says don’t rule out two other contenders…