News

Senators shelve school financing proposal

by Walter Pierce

State Education Superintendent John White says he will continue talking with legislative leaders about whether a compromise can be reached.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Senators have rejected a $3.5 billion school financing plan the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education proposed for next year.

The Senate Education Committee shelved the proposal without objection Thursday.

Committee Chairman Conrad Appel said he had a philosophical problem with the formula calculations, before he moved to defer the legislation. No senators objected.

It was unclear if the committee will revisit the issue at another time.

State Education Superintendent John White says he will continue talking with legislative leaders about whether a compromise can be reached.

Lawmakers can approve or reject the formula submitted each year by BESE, but cannot change it. If BESE and lawmakers can't agree on a new formula, the state would continue using the current financing structure to pay for public schools next year.