A budget battle between Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Senate President Cameron Henry appears to be brewing.
The state House approved a budget giving Landry the funding increase he wants for the LA GATOR voucher program, doubling the size of the initiative that allows families to use public dollars to send their children to private schools.
However, Henry is adamant: that increase won't happen under his watch.
"The House passed (the budget) with the doubling of the program from last year in it," Sen. Henry (R-Metairie) said. "That doesn't have a very good chance of staying that way in the Senate."
Sen. Henry told WWL's Tommy Tucker that his position on the LA GATOR program's funding hasn't changed. He says he wants lawmakers to hold off on adding funds to the program until the state can prove it works.
"We're gonna kinda wait and see the outcomes. You don't just expand the program after one year just because," Sen. Henry said.
Sen. Henry said he supports to keeping funding for the LA Gator program at its current rate until those results are available. He added that before he agrees to double the voucher program's funding, he wants to make sure the state is getting the best prices on vendor contracts and that the program is actually improving students' academic progress.
"We don't need to rush any of that right now. We'll keep the program where it was last year, about $42 to $47 million dollars, and we'll see how the results are this year, and then maybe next year we'll add to it, or we'll adjust it," Sen. Henry said. "We'll wait a couple of years and see if it's actually producing anything. Are the students that were going to a different school in a better position now?"
