Cameron Henry Archives - Louisiana Budget Project

September 20, 2018

Teacher pay raise is top 2019 priority

Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday that a $1,000 annual pay raise for teachers and $500 for school support staff would be his top legislative priority in 2019, calling it critical to attracting motivated people to the profession.

Number of the Day

12.4 percent - Poverty rate for the 100 largest metro areas in the nation. This is the fourth year in a row that major metro poverty has fallen. New Orleans was the only metro area where poverty increased. (Source: Brookings Institution)

June 21, 2018

Showdown in the House

Two-plus years of debates, multiple studies and three special sessions now come down to this: The Louisiana House will take up three revenue-raising bills today, each one renewing a different fraction of the temporary “clean penny” of sales tax that expires on June 30.

Number of the Day

$11 million - Remaining cut to local sheriffs’ funding for housing state prisoners, in budget plan passed by House Appropriations on Wednesday. (Source: Nola.com/TimesPicayune)

June 18, 2018

Once more, with feeling

Thirteen days from today marks the start of the 2018-19 state fiscal year. If the Legislature fails to craft a revenue deal by then, Louisiana faces the specter of unprecedented cuts to higher education, public safety and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which puts food on the table for nearly 1 in 5 Louisianans.

Number of the Day

$67.5 million - Annual cost to the state of administering the food assistance program (SNAP). A $34.7 million cut would force the program to shut down during the 2018-19 fiscal year (Source: LBP via House Fiscal Division)

June 14, 2018

The Children of Central City

Simultaneously heartbreaking and inspiring, the special project by a team of reporters and photographers at Nola.com/The Times Picayune about children growing up in one of New Orleans most historic and most violent neighborhoods is a must-read.

Number of the Day

$1.4 billion - Total amount of federal SNAP benefits distributed to low-income Louisiana families (Source: Department of Children and Family Services)