Jane Goodall, renowned chimpanzee expert and conservationist, dies at 91 3A THE
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T h u r s d ay, O c T O b e r 2, 2025
UL faculty told to expect more job cuts
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Parties play blame game as shutdown takes effect Debate continues over funding and negotiations
BY MARK BALLARD and ALYSE PFEIL Staff writers
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE
Attendees enter the Bayou Bijou Theater before a town hall on Wednesday held by interim President Jaimie Hebert to answer questions about operations and the budget deficit at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Six positions eliminated as school faces $25M deficit BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
After announcing the elimination of six positions Tuesday, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s interim president told a crowded town hall meeting Wednesday that additional staff and faculty cuts will likely be needed to close to gap on the $25 million deficit announced last week. Interim President Jaimie Hebert promised to keep the cuts to a minimum. “We cannot resolve this without some reductions in staff. It’s going to happen,” Hebert said. “We are going to minimize that number as time goes on. I can’t make promises; there isn’t a magic number out there that we need to look at. We’re going to attempt to make as much headway as we can by cutting expenditures outside of personnel and by generating more revenue.” Hebert delivered the somber message before taking input from attendees, who questioned him for nearly 40 minutes about topics ranging from selling property to generate quick cash and reduce overhead to when the university expects to reach fiscal stability. Hebert announced the initial cuts in an email to faculty Tuesday. The cuts impacted three divisions. The Office of Sustainability and Community Engagement was closed, while the Office of Communications and Marketing and the Office of Auxiliary Services were restructured. He did not identify individuals af-
WASHINGTON — Congressional party leaders spent much of Wednesday, the first day of a government shutdown, pointing the finger at each other and saying they did not know just how long some government services will remain closed. Republican House leaders — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson — spent much of the day talking to the media. But real action, or lack thereof, was in the Senate. The House last month passed a resolution, on a largely party-line vote, to authorize government spending past the Sept. 30 deadline to Nov. 21. For the third time Wednesday morning, the Senate rejected the “continuing resolution” on a vote of 55-45. Sixty votes are needed for passage of financial instruments, and Republicans hold only 53 seats in the Senate. “We need a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to reopen the government and once we do that, then we can talk about the issues that Democrats are raising,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said before the vote. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the only reason the government shutdown is “because Republicans refuse to negotiate.” “All Chuck Schumer needs to do is get over the tantrum that he’s having with the results of the election from November, and vote yes to keep the government open,” Scalise said Wednesday. At issue is the resolution passed by House Republicans last month that authorized government functions at the same level of funding and without any policy changes attached — a so-called “clean
ä See SHUTDOWN, page 6A
University of Louisiana at Lafayette interim President Jaimie Hebert speaks to members of the media following a town hall on Wednesday. fected by the cuts, but said, “Each position represents a colleague and a friend, and I want to acknowledge the very real effect this has on the members of our campus community.” The Wednesday town hall was cordial, with several faculty members expressing appreciation and understanding for the unenviable position the interim president is currently in. That position is solving a $25 million “structural deficit” that was first announced last week. University leaders have identified $15 million in reductions. Some of Tuesday’s moves were part of those reduc-
Guidry sentenced to 4 years for kickback scheme BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
tions. Hebert could not provide an updated number on the current deficit, but said he aims to achieve fiscal stability by May or June. He said most divisions will reduce operational expenses by 10%. Academic affairs will reduce expenses by 5%, which Hebert said would limit impact on the university’s core mission. “Our priorities remain constant: protect the student experience, support faculty in teaching and re-
Dusty Guidry, the architect of kickback schemes involving the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Lafayette and East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Offices and others, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison. Judge David Joseph of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette sentenced Guidry to 48 months on each of three federal charges, to run concurrently, along with any sentence in St. Martin Parish for a December 2021 drug charge. “Your greed struck at the heart of the criminal justice system” in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and
ä See FACULTY, page 5A
ä See GUIDRY, page 5A
Louisiana private schools seek to delay new pre-K regulations
from his children to plead his case task force after the legislation he’d schools to obtain a day care center school accountability. But critics Leaders say rules to lawmakers. He testified repeat- championed, Act 409, had been license — a lengthy process involv- call the regulations excessive and excessive, unnecessary edly that private preschools, like signed into law. “This law is not ing background checks and site in- unnecessary given private schools’
the one where he says his daughter was harmed by another student, must be better regulated. Staff writer But when Williams returned to Roger Williams spent many long the Capitol in August, it was to celdays in the state Capitol this year, ebrate. taking time off work and away “We did it,” he told a child abuse
BY PATRICK WALL
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 70 PAGE 6A
just words on paper — it’s a shield for Louisiana’s children.” The sweeping 32-page law regulates hiring and training, child supervision and abuse reporting at day cares and preschools. It requires pre-K programs at private
spections — and allows families to sue for damages if their children are abused at school. Advocates like Williams tout the law, which the state Legislature passed unanimously this year, as a major victory for child safety and
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existing safety protocols and warn that tuition might rise to offset the costs of compliance, including extra teachers, background checks and facility upgrades.
ä See PRE-K, page 5A
101ST yEAR, NO. 94