Cathy Barlow Edmonston
Baton Rouge Business Report: Business, ...
Baton Rouge Business Report: Business, good-government groups renew push for a Louisiana ‘reset’

UL System initiative aims to help La. to compete

No matter the reason, there are 653,000 adults in Louisiana — one in

five — with some college credit but no degree.


That number breaks down by region into:


73,296 in Acadiana 43,110 in the Kisatchie-Delta Region (Central

Louisiana) 41,282 in the North Delta Region (Northeast Louisiana)

88,163 in District Seven (northwest Louisiana) 180,141 in the Greater

New Orleans Region 164,619 in the Capital Region 50,129 in the South

Central Region and 43,241 in the Calcasieu Region.


The nine-university system wants to eliminate barriers like these that

often keep people from re-enrolling.

Ed Reformers Rejoice: New CREDO Report Shows Student Progress In New Orleans Has Continued

In 2015, Louisiana switched to standardized tests aligned with the Common Core standards, which were far more rigorous than the old tests. It began the process in 2014, when it first moved its tests in that direction, and it continued to alter the test after 2015. Not surprisingly, starting in 2014, what had been a steady rise in proficiency leveled off. Education reformers began to fear that this plateau revealed waning effects of the move to charters, rather than just the impact of tougher tests.

But a new report by the Stanford Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) focused on student growth scores reveals that New Orleans’s progress has continued.

Proposed state aid for early childhood education is far below need, advocates say

Despite repeated comments on the value of early childhood education, advocates are bracing for what they view as a paltry allocation likely coming from the Legislature to trim a key waiting list for services.

While 5,520 children from birth to age 3 are waiting for assistance, the list would be trimmed by 7 percent under the latest version of Louisiana's $30 billion operating budget.

Governor wants $4.3M more for early childhood education in new pledge of support; here's why

Amid criticism, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Tuesday he will push to increase spending for early childhood education so that a key waiting list for services can be reduced.

Edwards made the announcement during a luncheon that was part of Early Education Day at the State Capitol, which attracted about 120 advocates.

Under current budget plans, a waiting list of around 5,500 children seeking early childhood services would be trimmed by 400.

The governor said he wants the Legislature to allocate another $4.3 million, which would trim the waiting list by about 1,100 children, or 700 more.

Our Views: John White shows the real path to a brighter future for Louisiana

Inside the State Capitol on Wednesday, observers and participants in the legislative circus might have been wondering if anything positive was being accomplished for Louisiana.

On the same day, on the steps outside, Louisiana’s superintendent of education and other officials were pointing out the real and brighter future that is possible when a new generation of Louisiana students get a better start in college and careers.

The signature achievement, after years of trying, was that public high schools graduated more than 80% of students over four years.

Our Views: Pension debts crowding out better school investments

The situation in a nutshell: “Teachers are frustrated over low and stagnant pay. But labor costs for districts are going up rapidly due to pension and health-benefit costs. Because these benefit cost increases do not correspond to rising benefits for current teachers — they reflect legacy costs — they are creating a larger and larger wedge between what teachers today take home in terms of wages and benefits, and school districts’ personnel costs.”

Our opinion: State rankings hold an important message

May 15, 2019 | 7:57 AM

U.S. News & World Report has issued its latest rankings of states, and once again, the news is not good for Louisiana.

For the third consecutive year – and for all three of the years the report has issued the rankings – Louisiana was ranked 50th among states as a cumulative measure of important factors.

Our state ranked last overall and was last in categories such as crime, opportunity and the environment. It scored near the bottom in a handful of other areas.

“As people are increasingly concerned about income disparities, rising health care costs, gaps in education and crumbling infrastructure, it’s more important than ever to focus on the day-to-day policies that affect people where they live their lives,” said Eric Gertler, executive chairman at U.S. News.

None of this means that Louisiana is the worst state, and none of these measures are objective determinations of how bad Louisianans’ quality of life is.

But like any other ranking that puts us at or near the bottom, it does raise issues that need further exploration and leadership.

In our case, crime, the environment, education and infrastructure aren’t just abstract notions that have no meaning. These are real-world issues that do determine our quality of life. Being able to use reliable roads and bridges, sending our children to quality schools and colleges, protecting our vast but fragile natural resources and enjoying our safety really do determine how happy we are in our communities.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has taken issue with the rankings, pointing out that some of the data used in them is out of date and that the state has made marked improvements that aren’t represented in our poor score.

We can quibble about exactly how the scores are compiled, but doing so would squander an excellent opportunity to bring these issues the attention they deserve. We know our roads are in terrible shape and that our schools statewide are in dire need of improvement. We know that we suffer with crime and that our environment is facing difficult challenges.

But these complex problems have proven hard to address, and political leaders more often than not have simply pushed them off until sometime in the future. We are making some strides, but we need to make more of them and keep the attention focused on these great needs.

This ranking isn’t going to stroke Louisiana’s ego, but it could be an important call to action.

Editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper, not of any individual.

Our opinion: Drug courts are saving money, changing lives

“What the public needs to understand is drug addiction is a disease,” said Terrebonne drug court coordinator Danny Smith. “If you don’t receive treatment you’re either going to go in and out of prison or you’re going to die. Treatment is what’s best for the public. It costs the state $6,000 to put someone through Drug Court but $20,000 or $30,000 to put them in prison for a year. It’s a tremendous savings for taxpayers if we get them treatment rather than prison.”

CABL, PAR, C100 join forces to ‘RESET’ Louisiana policy

The Council for a Better Louisiana, Public Affairs Research Council and Committee of 100 are teaming up in an unprecedented effort to push for major, systemic change across Louisiana in four key policy areas: state finances, education, transportation infrastructure, and criminal justice/public safety. 

Though all three of the organizations have advocated for reforms in those areas in the past, they say this new initiative—called RESET—will be different.

“This effort does not intend to simply hit the ‘restart’ button as the state has done in years past, surviving year to year,” says Jim Harris, whose firm, Harris Deville is working with the group. “RESET is an effort to start anew and create a true path forward for Louisiana’s future.”