Displaying items by tag: Louisiana education

<h2>Louisiana students on wrong side of digital divide<h2

Our illustrious state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in Louisiana has just released a startling report.  Over 25% of students, some 179,000 throughout the state, have no internet access.  Yet the vast majority of school districts teach a good part of the week virtually over the internet.  There are some 403,000 househ0lds that have NO internet connection.

With new Covid-19 restrictions being placed on Louisiana residents, the impact on the state’s business community will be devastating. Already, the state’s economy is teetering from the four-month lockdown. Our major industries, such as hospitality and tourism, have been destroyed. Few patrons are gambling, so the riverboat casinos have announced major layoffs.

As the Louisiana legislature begins a new session, the focus—early on—concerns alligators, almond milk, marching bands, the Who Dat Nation, driverless cars, wrestling matches, crab traps, meatless burgers, and changing the name of the state song. By any objective measure, most of these proposals should go by the wayside and the focus should be on educating our kids, particularly at a very young age.

If you are Businessman Eddie Rispone or Congressman Ralph Abraham (one of the two Republican candidates) intending to unseat Governor John Bel Edwards for the rights to the state capitol’s 4th floor, you have some heavy lifting to do.

And, if you are running for political office this year or working on a political campaign, reading the just-released 2019 Louisiana Survey, a project of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs of LSU, is a must-do.

Louisiana is having a bad “hair week” it seems in overall rankings as Wallet Hub releases its rankings for best and worst states to have a baby, attend a community college and woman’s equality. The results? Not very good.

WalletHub also released its best cities to retire. New Orleans led Louisiana with a 19^th spot rank.

The Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL) has released the following statement in relationship to the Louisiana House of Representatives, led by Republicans, passing a budget that makes major cuts to Louisiana higher education and healthcare. The budget is consistent with the party's philosophy to spend no more than is anticipated and to not raise taxes. Here is the statement:

Today, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, after completing a failed fiscal session ending last week, embarked upon the regular session today, held annually during the Spring.  The fiscal session was called as a special legislative session so revenues could be raised. These revenues or taxes cannot be raised during a regular session. Edwards wants the session to end early so it can engage in another fiscal session at the end of the regular-scheduled spring session to handle the close to one billion dollars in budget shortages.

Below is the transcript of today's speech to the Louisiana legislative session.  The speech was streamed live by Bayoubuzz.com with related tweets off to the side.

One million dollars down the drain to pay for a special session of the Louisiana legislature. And all for naught. The Governor is hollering that the financial sky is falling and the state is in dire fiscal straights. Legislators protest that their hands are tied by too many constitutional dedications. And since there is little appetite for trimming the budget, the legislature now begins its regular gathering at the state capitol with a shortfall of over one billion dollars.