At a press conference on the Capital Steps yesterday, two New Orleans area African-American legislators presented legislation that would commit the state government to a regularly funding school construction needs.
Both bills, Senate Bill 632 by Sen. Cheryl Gray and House Bill 962 by Rep. Karen Carter Peterson, will test the relationship that the Crescent City Black caucus members have built with the Jindal administration and GOP leadership in both houses of the legislature.It was Peterson who led local Black Democrats in the House to cross party lines and elect the Governor’s choice for Speaker, Rep. Jim Tucker (R-Algiers), and Gray, a freshman Senator and former Rep, has consistently supported Jindal initiatives.
Now the two women wish to test their relationships with the Governor and Republican hierarchy for which they voted.Tucker named Peterson Speaker Pro Tem, but these bills are the first major pieces of legislation she has pushed since joining the leadership.
Both bills, up for consideration before the Regular Session next week, are designed to address the growing problem of deteriorating, unsafe, outdated and overcrowded public school facilities across Louisiana.
Louisiana does not currently directly provide state funding for local school infrastructure needs, although both Gray and Peterson both argue, forty-one other states do provide such funding.Their legislation, they explained, is designed to raise the state from its ranking of fourth from the bottom of in the list of financial support for public school facilities needs.
Assigned to House Appropriations Committee, Peterson’s House Bill No. 962 establishes a fund in the state treasury known as the “Statewide Educational Facilities Fund” that will be used to provide state level funding for school construction and repairs throughout Louisiana.
Beginning December 31, 2008, funding would come annually from the following sources totaling $60 million: 10% of the proceeds from corporate income taxes collected until the total deposits reached $20 million, the first $20 million collected from the proceeds of the sales and use tax, and $20 million of the franchise fee from riverboat gaming activities.
The fund will be used solely by the Louisiana Statewide Educational Facilities Authority (SEFA). As Peterson explained to Bayoubuzz.com, “In the 2007 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, HCR 230 laid out plans for a task force to be convened to study Louisiana’s school facilities and make conclusions and recommendations based on best practices around the nation. The HCR 230 Task Force report included information on school facilities management from around the nation that revealed that 41 other states provide funding for school construction and have an authority to oversee and allocate those funds. This report was approved by BESE and submitted to the state legislature.”
“Around the nation, authorities such as what is being considered in Louisiana are funded from a variety of means including sales taxes, corporate taxes, lottery revenues, gaming revenues and direct appropriations from the state legislature. The proposed funding for the Louisiana Statewide Educational Facilities Fund is similar to mechanisms used in other states.”
Gray’s Senate Bill No. 632, which is assigned to Senate Committee on Education, would establish the Louisiana Statewide Educational Facilities Authority (SEFA) for the purpose of administering state level funding for local school districts to use for construction and repairs of facilities.
The LA SEFA would be housed within the Department of Education initially and would be fully staffed with an executive director and individuals specializing in fields related to school construction and finance. The Authority itself would be composed of individuals with special expertise in the necessary fields, representatives from organizations that have knowledge of the school building process, elected officials and education administrators.
Funding for the Authority would come from Peterson’s House Bill No. 962.
As Gray explained to Bayoubuzz.com, “
Most states have faced litigation regarding school finance formulas that have resulted in state level funding for facilities. Louisiana has faced similar litigation and has yet to be forced to provide state level funding.” The legislation would forstall any such legal action.Appropriations would go to recommendations made by the HCR 230 Task Force based on best practices of school facilities management from around the nation.
Nash Molpus, Assistant Director Scott S. Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives at TulaneUniversity, helped craft the wording of the legislation.In an interview, he told this news organization both bills are critical to the educational needs of New Orleans as well as the state.
SB 632 will directly help the needs of the RecoverySchool
District, for example, without leaving other districts out of the loop.As Molpus outlined, “All local school districts including the RSD will be eligible to receive additional funding. SB 632 will supplement already allocated local dollars. SB 632 will not take away the locals' control of capital funding, but can be another resource for capital projects.”
Nor will HB 962, the Trust Fund, affect the calculations of the Minimum Foundation Formula, he said.
“Currently the MFP formula does not include funding for any facilities' needs. BESE will prepare the MFP calculations independent of the trust fund. Our initial experience is that legislators understand, based on the condition of the school facilities in their district, that providing funding for facilities is crucial to the success of our children.”
To the real question of support by Jindal and the GOP leadership of both Houses, Molpus said that Gray and Peterson have entered discussions with the Executive Branch and predict that while there are no GOP cosponsors as of yet, “We do expect many cosponsors in the near future.”
Molpus and the legislators were mum, though, on how this bill will affect the Governor’s major educational legislation call, for a 10 million dollar scholarship fund for Orleans Parish students to attend private or parochial schools.Sponsored by Gray and Peterson’s ally within the Black Caucus, Rep. Austin Badon, the bill is the major priority of the administration.
