Louisiana governor is again pursuing increased funding of the new school voucher program in the state, but the current legislative session is greatly concerned with the expansion of the LA GATOR program to allow families to utilize public funds to pay tuition fees and other education expenses at the private school. The level of spending would increase on his proposed budget by almost twice that of the program, currently.

Simultaneously, one of the legislative leaders called Senate President Cameron Henry has resisted. He himself indicated that the Senate will not accept a large increase in funding with the doubts of last year and continuing worry about the structure of the program and its performance in terms of good education results.

What is LA GATOR and why it is important?

LA GATOR is a significant increase in the Louisiana model of school choice. It allows families to spend state money on not solely the tuition of their students at private schools, but uniforms, tutoring, laptops and other educational bills, and it serves a wider range of students than other voucher schemes. Proponents claim that it will give families the power to decide on the type of schooling that would suit their children.

Critics claim that there is lack of regulation, the expenses may take a very short time to shoot up and the program may end up funding families whose member has been in the private schools. Such reservations have made some legislators apprehensive about dedicating more state budget to the initiative.

Budget Numbers and Resistance by legislators.

A small amount of funding was given last year to fund the current vouchers as opposed to the comprehensive expansion of the vouchers proposed by Landry. That minimal allocation had resulted in few more seats being added to the program. The leaders in the senate led by Henry have indicated that they will maintain a similar course in the current year, even with the fresh initiative of the governor.

Other pressures in Louisiana in regards to education spending are also noted by critics. Much attention is paid to teacher salaries and classroom funding, and the legislators tend to allocate possible voucher funds to help the public schools and tutoring in kindergarten.

The Broader Education Debate.

This conflict points to a bigger debate within the state on the best way of enhancing education outcome. Advocates of vouchers believe that providing families with choices to alternative schools besides the traditional schools would foster success. Other people wonder whether these programs provide quantifiable benefits and are concerned about the budgetary effects in the long run in case the voucher system grows at a very high pace.

With the ongoing budget talks, legislatures will be forced to compromise various priorities in education funding. The result will determine the way Louisiana will invest in both public and private schooling in future.