Jindal mum on school aid
Gov. Bobby Jindal said Monday it is too early to tell whether state aid to public schools will be frozen for the fourth consecutive year.
“Everybody knows that the state is facing tight budgets,” Jindal said. “Every agency is being required to do more with less.”
The Jindal administration is starting to prepare a budget proposal for the financial year that begins on July 1.
State funding to public schools was generally frozen earlier this year for the third straight year.
Before state financial problems began surfacing three years ago, spending per student typically rose by at least 2.75 percent annually.
However, the state is already grappling with a $251 million mid-year shortfall. The Jindal administration closed the gap with $144 million in cuts and newly identified federal and state funds.
Aid for public schools goes through a formula called the Minimum Foundation Program.
That fund is nearly $43 million short for the current school because of enrollment increases, which is one of the reasons for the current budget scramble.
The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education requests funding for public schools.
However, BESE takes it cue from Jindal and his budget plans.
The 2012 regular legislative session begins on March 12.
“I think it is too early to know what BESE is going to vote to do or even what the final budget situation is going to be,” Jindal said.
“We are going to continue to make K-12 education a priority,” he said. “We have done that the last four years and we are going to continue to do that.”
The governor made his
comments after the latest in a series of closed-door meetings about his plans for public schools.
The gathering included some state lawmakers, superintendents and members of BESE. Jindal said he will spell out his school proposals next month.
School spending totals $3.4 billion.
It includes $3,855 per student in state assistance.
The total rose by about $70 million over the previous year primarily because of enrollment gains.
Jindal said that, since he took office in 2008, state aid for public schools has risen 9.7 percent while Louisiana’s operating budget has been trimmed by 26 percent.
In a related development Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Legislative Fiscal Office, said Monday that the way the MFP is budgeted sets up the state for a financial shortfall.
Albrecht told the Press Club of Baton Rouge that the state does not try to project public school enrollment when deciding how much should be budgeted for schools.
He said current enrollment numbers are used, which often become outdated when classes begin a few months later.
The state has an estimated 668,000 public school students.
Michelle Millhollon
contributed to this story.