Spreading it around: Gov. John Bel Edwards wants to spend two-thirds of a $123 million Louisiana surplus on road and bridge work, college building repairs and local construction projects, a lengthy list of small-dollar items that would spread the money across the state. Released Wednesday, Edwards’ plan includes 23 transportation projects, 199 small-dollar construction projects, community water projects, local government aid and a $10 million block of money for college campus maintenance. Under Louisiana’s constitution, $12 million of the surplus must pay down retirement debt and nearly $31 million must go into the state’s “rainy day” fund. That leaves about $80 million left for spending. Lawmakers will determine how to use the surplus from the last budget year in their current legislative session. Read more.
Around the table: Saturday is the last day to register for Louisiana Economic Development’s CEO Roundtables Program. The 2018-2019 program begins in July and will include 15 business leaders for each roundtable event. The roundtables meet 10 times a year for peer-to-peer learning, business networking and to share resources that will help them grow their businesses. Participants must lead growing firms with $600,000 to $50 million in annual revenue and five to 99 employees. Get more information.
On guard: Armed security officers are becoming more prevalent at America’s schools, according to a federal study released today amid a heated debate over whether teachers and other school officials should carry guns. Armed officers were present at least once a week in 43% of all U.S. public schools during the 2015-16 school year, compared with 31% of schools a decade before, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The study came out a day after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos kicked off a federal school safety panel. Read more.
Editor’s note: In observation of the Good Friday holiday, the offices of Louisiana Business Inc. will be closed on Friday and Daily Report will not be published. Daily Report will return on Monday. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend.
