Governor Landry says there’s no logical reason that teachers should not get a permanent pay increase. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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The Louisiana House approves legislation that would prevent the public from seeing the financial contracts between college athletic departments and their athletes. Joe Gallinaro has the story.

Cut 2 (36) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.” 

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A 3.6-billion-dollar AI data center will be built in Rapides Parish. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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As Governor Landry announced that he and the legislature will find a way to give teachers another two-thousand-dollar stipend, he says there’s no logical reason not to find the money to permanently increase teacher pay in Louisiana. Landry says over the last four decades, public school enrollment has dropped by more than 100-thousand…

Cut 4 (15) “…public school students.”

…while at the same time, per-student spending has increased.

Cut 5 (15) “…dollars for students.”

Landry says wherever that additional money is going is not into the bank accounts of teachers, who have actually seen their inflation-adjusted pay go the other direction.

Cut 6 (11) “…it for inflation.”

Landry also announced the formation of a bipartisan MFP permanent pay raise task force.

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A proposal to shield the public from seeing the revenue share contracts between universities and their athletes has received approval from the Senate on a 22-13 vote. Baton Rouge Senator Franklin Foil says if other SEC schools know how much LSU is giving to a particular player, it could result in other universities offering that athlete more money to play at their schools.

Cut 7 (09) “…are doing it.”

Several senators spoke out against the legislation which LSU supports. Norco Senator Gregory Miller says the state is losing sight of its priorities with this legislation.

Cut 8 (16) “…trying to protect.”

Franklinton Senator Beth Mizell also voiced her opposition to the legislation while questioning Foil.

Cut 9 (12)  “…for state funding.”

Foil argues the money going to athletes through a revenue share deal are funds generated by the athletic department through ticket sales and television contracts.

Shreveport Senator Thomas Pressly opposes the idea of creating a new public records exemption to hide the dollar amounts students receive directly from universities.

Cut 10 (09) “…be on education.”

The measure heads back to the House for final legislative approval, because an amendment was added to the legislation that shields the current revenue share deals that universities have with their athletes.

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A 3.6-billion-dollar artificial intelligence factory is coming to Rapides Parish, as Applied Digital Corporation plans to build a massive A-I data center in the town of Boyce. The project will create more than one-thousand construction jobs, and the new campus will bring in 200 direct jobs, each paying about 90-thousand dollars a year. Governor Jeff Landry says the days of outmigration out of central Louisiana are over.

Cut 11 (13) “…you very much.”

Site development of the data center began in January, and initial operations are expected to begin in mid-2027. Louisiana Central President and CEO Chris Massingill says this project has the potential to be one of the most transformational in the history of Rapides Parish.

Cut 12 (10) “…get to work.”

Pineville-based Cleco will provide power to support Applied Digital’s data center. Public Service Commissioner Jean-Paul Coussan says this is a huge day for Cenla.

Cut 13 (09)  “…we can win.”

The campus will support advanced A-I and cloud computing workloads.

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The Pelicans introduce their new man, as they officially welcome Jamahl Mosley as their new head coach. Mosley coached the Orlando Magic for the last five seasons, leading them to the playoffs in the last three seasons; and earlier this month, they nearly knocked off the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Detroit Pistons. Mosley says he likes what he sees in his new team.

Cut 14 (09) “…says a lot.”

Mosley says he especially likes what he sees in Zion Williamson, who he says hasn’t scratched the surface of what he can do for the Pelicans and the NBA.

Cut 15 (07) “…being healthy.”

Mosley is known as a defensive minded coach. He says he preaches defense first because the best teams in the NBA are always among the best in the league on the defensive end of the floor…

Cut 16 (12) “…high level.”

Which college campus in Louisiana is ranked the best? For the answer, here’s Joe Gallinaro.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”

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Governor Landry says teachers will get their stipend for next school year, one way or another. Andrew Greenstein has some insight.

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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Which college campus is ranked number one in Louisiana? According to the college search website Niche (“nish”), that honor goes to Southeastern Louisiana University. The website especially noted the quality and affordability of Southeastern’s on-campus dining. President Dr. William Wainwright says it’s an honor the entire school can be proud of.

Cut 3 (11) “…the appropriate technologies.”

Southeastern was also recognized for its housing, diversity and social scene, which Dr. Wainwright says all contribute to student achievement.

Cut 4 (08) “…completion and graduation.”

Wainwright says the intimate campus atmosphere makes for a much better academic experience for students.

Cut 5 (10) “…in their field.”

The next four in Niche’s top five are – in order – Tulane, U-L Lafayette, Northwestern State and LSU Alexandria.

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At the SEC Spring Meetings, Commissioner Greg Sankey said the league will not take a firm stance this week on expanding the College Football Playoff from 12 to 24 teams. Sankey says instead, they will use the meetings to brief university leaders and coaches on the pros and cons of an expansion…

Cut 6 (10) “…time.”

College football leaders have until December 1^st to decide if they want to expand the C-F-P to 24 teams, 16 teams or stay at 12 for the 2027 season. The Big 10, ACC and the Big 12 have all said the C-F-P should expand to 24 teams and there are also SEC coaches who support it as well. Sankey says he prefers an expansion to 16 teams over 24 teams…

Cut 7 (12) “…moving forward.”

Based on polling, a vast majority of college football fans oppose a 24-team playoff, while coaches might support it because if they can make the playoff, it provides more job security. Sankey says right now, every regular season game in college football game matters that could change if the C-F-P is expanded to 24 teams…

Cut 8 (12) “…understand”

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Governor Jeff Landry tells public school teachers at a press conference that the state will indeed plan to fund a stipend as part of their salary for the next school year. Landry says as lawmakers will approve a budget in the coming days and once the spending plan, hits his desk, they will decide how to pay for the two-thousand dollar stipend for the coming school year…

Cut 9 (11)  “…my own.”

Landry says they have time, because the stipends are not distributed until December. 

There is currently no state funding for the stipend or permanent pay raise, because Constitutional Amendment 3 failed at ballot box on May 16th.

Landry also announced the formation of a bipartisan MFP permanent pay raise task force.

Cut 10 (13) “…raise or not.” 

Senate President Cameron Henry says he will introduce a Senate Concurrent Resolution to study and develop a new MFP formula. Henry says there’s no reason not to find money to increase teacher pay when funding for public education has gone up and student enrollment has declined…

Cut 11 (14) “…in those dollars.”