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W e d n e s d ay, J u n e 17, 2026
Auditor: Funds available to pay teacher stipends
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Potential tropical storm brings chance for flooding Slow-moving disturbance set to hit Texas-Louisiana border Staff report
STAFF PHOTOS By JOHN BALLANCE
Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack speaks Tuesday to the Louisiana Audit Advisory Council about an executive order from Gov. Jeff Landry that would reduce public school funding for the 2026-27 school year.
Review shows most school systems have ample reserves to weather cuts proposed to fund bonuses, official says BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
School superintendents might not like Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to cut their budgets to pay for teacher stipends — but most school districts can afford it. That was the message from the state auditor and some lawmakers during a meeting Tuesday focused on Landry’s recent executive order calling for the state to reduce public school funding by nearly $170 million for the coming school year to cover the cost of $2,000 pay bumps for teachers and $1,000 for school support staff. Lawmakers have until next Tuesday to vote on the order, which needs the approval of twothirds of the Legislature to take effect. Superintendents and school board members have warned that the roughly 5% reduction in state funding could force them to cut positions or programs, and they have privately and publicly urged lawmakers to reject the plan. But Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack told lawmakers Tuesday that his office reviewed school system finances and concluded that nearly all of the state’s roughly 70 school districts could weather
WEATHER HIGH 85 LOW 77 PAGE 8B
Janet Pope, executive director of the Louisiana School Boards Association, answers a question during Tuesday’s meeting. the proposed cut, saying most have ample reserve funds to draw from. “I honestly think this executive order can be executed,” he told lawmakers on the Legislative Audit Advisory Council. In an interview after the meeting, he added that Landry’s plan could pose challenges for four or five school districts with little or no rainy-day funds, but he argued that “a large majority should have no is-
With a potential tropical cyclone moving along the northwestern Gulf Coast and a stalled humid air mass still in place over the area, Baton Rouge remains under a flood watch through Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The slow-moving disturbance, which is forecast to develop into Tropical Storm Arthur, was predicted to make landfall Tuesday night on the Texas-Louisiana border. All of Louisiana has a risk of excessive rainfall, especially in the western and central parts of the state. Northern and southern Louisiana are at risk, as well, according to the weather service. “Regardless of tropical cyclone formation, portions of Louisiana and Mississippi should prepare for periods of intense rainfall over the next several days, which could produce widespread, life-threatening flash, urban and river flooding,” the National Hurricane Center, a division of the weather service, said Tuesday.
ä See FLOODING, page 12A
Planned attack on UFC show disrupted
sues doing this one year, one time.” According to data from the auditor’s office, school districts have about $1.8 billion in their “unassigned fund balances,” or extra revenue that has not been committed to a specific expense. Districts might use the money to pay for future building projects, cover expenses when revenue is down or respond to emergencies, such as hurricanes. Most school districts could backfill the state funding cut with reserve funds, according to the data. However, just over a third of districts, 25 of 69, do not have enough to cover the cut and still meet the auditor’s recommendation to maintain a rainy-day fund equivalent to at least 16.7% of their revenues. Still, the conclusion by the auditor — who reports to the Legislature and is independent from the governor — that most school systems have enough available money to manage Landry’s proposed funding cut could provide cover to lawmakers who have struggled with how to vote. Some legislators say they don’t support paying for teacher stipends by cutting education, but they also don’t want to vote against Landry, who could veto funding for local projects,
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officials disrupted a planned attack targeting the UFC cagefighting show staged at the White House this past weekend, according to court papers unsealed Tuesday that say plotters who harbored fringe conspiracy theories spoke of flying explosivesladen drones and shooting panicked crowd members as they fled. Investigators recovered high-powered firearms from several of the suspects and reviewed encrypted text messages between roughly 20 participants who shared detailed maps and aerial photographs of the area and discussed the need for a “safe house” and escape routes, the documents show. But it’s unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted. Several suspects or co-conspirators who were questioned by the authorities said they did not intend themselves to carry out violence but planned to
ä See FUNDS, page 12A
ä See ATTACK, page 10A
BY ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
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