LFT President: State budget fails education at all levels

Looming budget cuts to public education, from kindergarten through college, threaten to derail Louisiana's educational progress and darken our state's economic future, according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan.

The proposed budget includes $219 million in cuts to colleges and universities, and nearly $200 million in cuts to elementary and secondary education.

"This budget is a study in unfortunate choices," Monaghan said. "It puts public education at all levels on the wrong side of a clearly drawn line."

In funding for K-12 schools, the LFT president said, "More money is earmarked for vouchers for religious schools, and princely sums flow to consultants and contractors of every ilk. However, minimal funding for Louisiana's public school systems is apparently not a priority of this administration. Otherwise, the budget would not shortchange education's Minimum Foundation Program by $64 million in critical support to local school systems.

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