DIDDY ACQUITTED OF RACKETEERING, CONVICTED ON PROSTITUTION COUNTS 2A
ADVOCATE THE
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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T h u r s d ay, J u ly 3, 2025
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La. schools brace for possible cuts Trump administration withholds $7B nationally
BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Louisiana schools are bracing for potentially painful cuts, including to after-school programs and teacher training, after the Trump administration said this week that it is withholding nearly $7 billion in education grants. About 22,000 Louisiana students attend summer and after-school programs funded by the grants, advocates said. The federal money, which Congress approved earlier this year, also pays for programs
for summer learning, migrant students, English learners, adult literacy, arts and science education and violence prevention in schools across the country. Schools had expected to receive the money on July 1, as required by federal law, which would allow them to plan and budget for the fall. Instead, the U.S. Department of Education told states in a brief memo Monday that it would not release the funds until it had reviewed the grant programs, adding that funding decisions for the upcoming school year have not yet
been made. Louisiana could lose out on more than $109 million, or about 14% of its federal K-12 education funding, if the Trump administration does not restore the grant money, according to an estimate by the Learning Policy Institute, which conducts education research. A Louisiana Department of Education spokesperson said the agency is still reviewing the funding amounts and could not immediately confirm that figure.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
Louisiana schools are bracing for potentially painful cuts after the Trump administration said this week that it is withholding nearly $7 billion in ä See SCHOOLS, page 4A education grants.
BOOMING BUSINESS
Revelers head to area fireworks stands for Fourth of July supplies
Spending bill could boost La. federal funds Oil, gas money for coastal projects may increase
BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
A measure that would increase the amount of money Louisiana receives from offshore oil and gas production has survived the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill making its way toward a final vote in INSIDE Congress, potentially boosting federal funds dedicated to the state’s coastal protection and restoration plans. While the larger bill has fueled the country’s divisions, leading to warnings over its projected ballooning of the deficit and its cuts to programs like Medicaid, the little-known change in offshore revenue disbursements marks a House Speaker Mike victory in Louisiana’s yearslong efforts on Johnson, R-Benton the issue. ä GOP leaders in the Louisiana’s conHouse are working to win gressional delegation over holdouts and pass has led a charge to Trump’s spending bill. increase the state’s share of revenue col- Page 7A lected by the federal government from offshore production. The additional money would help address a steep decline in coastal protection funds in the coming years as billions flowing to the state from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement expire. The Trump administration’s cost-cutting and intent to shift more of the burden onto states has
ABOVE: The Baima family, from left, Dorthy, Helge, Race and Renzo browse the selection of products for sale at the firework tent off of North Lobdell Highway in Port Allen on Wednesday. RIGHT: Customer Jeremy Koren picks up a mini firework while shopping at the firework tent on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS
ä See BILL, page 4A
$36K EBR parish vehicle seen at councilman’s home Offroad vehicle is for district use, he says
he broke no rules by doing so and uses it for his district. City-parish records show council member Darryl Hurst bought the 2025 Polaris Ranger Crew XP BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER 1000 Northstar with his District Staff writer 5 budget in February. The money An East Baton Rouge Parish came from a new franchise fee Metro Council member has kept the council imposed on Entergy in a taxpayer-owned, $36,000 off- December. The council member said the veroad vehicle at his home, but says
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hicle is kept “for the most part, in a trailer or office” at the center in his district, though “sometimes I’ll ask somebody, ‘Hey man, let me Hurst store it here.’ ” But on Monday and Tuesday, the vehicle was parked in his drive-
way at his house in Monticello, about a 9-mile drive east of the center. Several council districts have community centers which council members oversee, like Hurst’s Charles R. Kelly Community Center in District 5. Council Administrator Ashley Beck said it “is not proper” for a metro council member to keep a city-owned vehicle at a personal
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residence. When asked why the vehicle was in his driveway, Hurst said the enclosed trailer at the District 5 community center was full. He said he does not use it at his house. “I’m not using it for personal, I only use it for community cleanup,” Hurst said. “And because I
ä See VEHICLE, page 4A
101ST yEAR, NO. 3