(The Center Square) — The House Committee on Education approved the upcoming year’s allocation plan for the Educational Excellence Fund.
The Louisiana Department of Education presented their proposed expenditures for fiscal year 2025 at the committee meeting Thursday.
The Educational Excellence Fund was created in 1999 using money from a Millennial Trust which started after a state settlement with tobacco companies.
The Legislature established investment accounts for each school district and gave the department responsibility for oversight of this money.
State law gives the districts three options for what the savings account money can be used for: Early childhood programs, which is birth to four years old, remedial instruction and assistance for students who perform poorly on state assessments and other educational programs if first approved by the legislature.
Eighty five percent of this fund is allocated for public schools, and the other 15% non-public. Most of these funds have been spent over the past 25 years since it began, but there was still $64.5 million left at the beginning of this year.
The fund is still active and the state adds some money every year per request, with $11.5 million put in at the beginning of this past year. $26.2 million of that total was carry over funds from the previous year, $27.7 million of it is for investment funds, and $7.4 million is cash on hand funds.
This year it seems they need every penny, especially with the legislature and governor trying to revamp the educational system. Fund recipients are requesting to expend $23.4 million of the fund this upcoming year.
Of that total request, $15.7 million is for instruction, $3.6 million is for early childhood education, and the remaining $4.3 million is for other programs.
There was little pushback for the request from the committee. The committee then heard a presentation on the state’s updates in early childhood education, and with 95% of sites being rated as ‘proficient or higher’ the legislature expressed gratitude that their allocated funds are being spent correctly.