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La. Seeks to Help School Districts

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By WILL SENTELL

The state is scrambling for ways to bail out public school districts amid a surge of 40,000 displaced students and no easy way to pay for them.

East Baton Rouge Parish is tops in the state with an increase of more than 6,000 students from parishes where schools were closed by damage from Hurricane Katrina, according to state figures.

Costs to educate those students alone for a year could total around $42 million. The district has already spent $6 million to hire 119 new teachers. Costs for expanded space, textbooks, school materials and transportation will drive the price tag up even further, School Superintendent Charlotte Placide said.

Placide said the district is spending the money on faith that it will be repaid. "And faith is not going to pay those salaries," she said in a recent appearance before a legislative committee. The district has about 52,500 students.

The issue is one of a handful considered so critical that it will be on the agenda when lawmakers start a brief special session Nov. 6.

Two options for school districts are making the rounds. They are:

a federal bailout of $1.4 billion.

revamped state aid to public schools to move dollars from districts where students used to be to where they are now.

Both options have pitfalls.

State Superintendent of Education Cecil Picard asked for the $1.4 billion, and other aid, in a letter last month to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.

"They need financial help immediately," Picard said of districts such as East Baton Rouge Parish. "Many of these districts, not just those in Louisiana, are operating on a very limited fund balance and cash flow is a critical issue."

However, Spellings' letter dated Sept. 21 made no firm commitments.

Rodney Watson, assistant superintendent, told a legislative committee on Monday that the state has not gotten an answer on its request for congressional relief.

The second option - changing the way state aid is parceled out - is under review by top state officials. Any such change requires the approval of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and then the Legislature.

But superintendents note that, even if state aid follows the displaced students, that only accounts for about half of the costs to educate the child. For instance, a $6,800-per-year price tag for a student means local school districts have to come up with about $3,400.

"If the locals have to pick up nearly half of that it is a real concern for us," Ascension Parish Superintendent Robert Clouatre said. "There are no answers right now. We are not getting any answers." Officials said displaced students are costing his district about $4 million.

Ascension Parish has just under 1,400 displaced students, down from a high of about 2,000. The reopening of schools in Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes trimmed the surge. Most of the rest are hurricane evacuees from Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, all three of which suffered massive hurricane damage.

"We are assuming, and I think it is a good assumption, that the rest of these children are here for the duration," Assistant Superintendent Donald Songy said.

The state had about 186,000 displaced public school students at the height of the problem, or about 27 percent of the total. Nearly 61,000 students in private schools had to find new options.

Aside from the 40,000 or so displaced students in Louisiana, another 62,000 have opted for schools in other states, including 46,503 in Texas, 5,678 in Florida and 2,362 in Mississippi.

Randy Pope is superintendent of public schools in Livingston Parish, which has about 960 displaced students. Pope said that, aside from costs of about $7,200 per student, the district has spent $949,000 to hire 33 new teachers, $47,000 for additional textbooks, $46,000 for desks and chairs and other expenses for rental buildings, renovation and transportation.

"It is costing us an awful lot," he said.

School districts that already had financial problems are feeling the strain of enrollment increases, Beth Scioneaux, state director of the Division of Education Finances, said.

"They did not have the funds available to buy the desks or buy the books." Scioneaux said. "They are really worried about cash flow."

Picard spokeswoman Meg Casper said he is waiting for congressional action on his aid request before deciding what to recommend to the state's top school board, which meets next week. A special panel is also planning to discuss the issue Monday.

Glenny Lee Buquet of Houma, president of the board, said she and others hope that federal aid can help school districts with displaced students.

"We are waiting to find out if the federal government is going to give us any aid," Buquet said.

Where are displaced students?

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH: 6,040 JEFFERSON PARISH: 3,724 VERMILION PARISH: 3,291 ST. TAMMANY PARISH: 2,543 LAFAYETTE PARISH: 2,111

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

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