Effect of K-12 cuts at district level not yet clear

Lawmakers decided during the second special session that public K-12 schools in Louisiana will get about $24 million less from the state than during the 2015-2016 school year. But it’s not clear yet what that means at the individual district level, according to some Central Louisiana superintendents.

Grant Superintendent Sheila Jackson said right now it's a waiting game to find out from the Louisiana Department of Education how much money districts could lose. She said her district is in planning, not panic mode.

"Yes, it does cause concern, because 88 percent of our budget is made up of salaries and benefits,"  Jackson said. "... We're just going to be hopeful it (impact) is minimal and that we continue to provide the level and quality of services (as previous years)."

The legislature raised $263 million in new taxes to avoid cuts to next year's budget, which begins July 1. Before that, public schools where short $44 million.

The Avoyelles Parish School Board planned for that shortfall, and they anticipated needing to dip into the district's fund balance, the equivalent of a savings account, for money this year, said Superintendent Blaine Dauzat.

That's not a solution districts can depend on long term, so Dauzat is hopeful K-12 cuts won't be something resorted to in years to come.

If they are, "in the near future, we'll (as a district) have to make cuts," Dauzat said. "... Eventually, the fund balance will run out."

Rapides Superintendent Nason "Tony" Authement and Assistant Superintendent Arthur Joffrion did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment this week.

LDOE Spokesman Barry Landry said in an email to The Town Talk that the supplemental spending bill "closing the unfortunate reduction to public schools from $44 million to roughly $24 million" provides general guidance as to how the additional $20 million should be used and directly mentions "expenses related to the high cost special needs students, costs related to Supplemental Course Allocation (and) to sustain the certified classroom teacher pay raise provided for by appropriation in Fiscal Year 2013-2014."

Landry said the department will release more specifics about how funds will be spent in the next two weeks.