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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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T u e s d ay, J u n e 16, 2026
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Hosanna Christian Academy abruptly closes
BR area prepares for heavy rainfall Flood watch issued through the week
BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Hosanna Christian Academy on Goodwood Boulevard in Baton Rouge announced it’s shutting down for good.
Leader blames ‘broken’ state voucher program BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
Once the poster child for private school vouchers in Louisiana, Hosanna Christian Academy in Baton Rouge has announced it’s closing its doors for good due to financial losses it says stem from recent changes in the voucher program and the continued unwillingness of the state lawmakers to expand it. The school’s closure is sending hundreds of families scrambling to find new schools. It comes less than two months before the start of the 202627 school year in August. The school, which opened in 1978, last year enrolled about 450 students in prekindergarten
to eighth grade, down from almost 500 the previous year. It employs about 60 staff members. The school is a ministry of Hosanna First Assembly church. The school, which is located at 8850 Goodwood Blvd., sent a letter to parents on Thursday with the surprise announcement. “As a result of harmful changes made in the state Legislature and some scholarship programs over the past two years, our school has incurred large financial losses that cannot be sustained,” according to the letter. In a statement, Ted Beasley, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Education, did not address the concerns raised by the school but acknowledged
that the state agency has been in contact with the school’s leadership. “We’re supporting families through this transition by offering sessions where they can learn more about using their LA GATOR scholarships at another participating school,” Beasley said. Hosanna Christian Academy was on the ground floor of vouchers when former Gov. Bobby Jindal launched the Louisiana Scholarship Program in 2012. Soon, the majority of the students enrolled at the school were receiving publicly funded vouchers. This past year, 255 Hosanna students — 57% of enrollment — received vouchers.
ä See SCHOOL, page 5A
‘They just keep coming’
growing the region’s population by 24%. The shift, along with the county’s thriving tourism industry, is generating an economic boom and luring more businesses to meet the needs of families who have long dreamed of laid-back lives near the beach. It is also forcing county leaders to
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An initial agreement between the United States and Iran to extend their shaky ceasefire inched toward a formal signing despite questions Monday over the fate of Tehran’s nuclear program ä Trump and an offensive by arrives at Israel in Lebanon G7 summit that could prolong the fighting and scuttle looking for momentum the deal. T h e a g r e e m e n t after signed electronically announcing Sunday is meant to deal. PAGE 3A provide a meaningful truce in a monthslong war that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran’s theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region. But logistical and military challenges underscored the fragile nature of the deal, which was set for
ä See SEASIDE, page 5A
ä See IRAN, page 4A
Staff writer
PAGE 6B
Initial deal to end U.S.-Iran war moves forward Associated Press
BY MARTHA SANCHEZ
WEATHER HIGH 80 LOW 75
ä See RAINFALL, page 5A
BY JON GAMBRELL, ELENA BECATOROS and MICHELLE L. PRICE
Population in Fla. seaside towns surges as newcomers seek a laid-back lifestyle SEASIDE, Fla. — Looking out the window of his family’s old grocery store, Charlie Modica sees few signs of the quiet beach town he moved to decades ago. Visitors with shopping bags now hurry across a busy square built on land that used to be filled with nothing but scrub oak. Cars playing country music pack streets that were once sandy and unpaved. A wave of newcomers moving to the beach towns across Florida’s Scenic Highway 30A is transforming the region from an undeveloped outpost into one of the fastest-growing areas along the Gulf Coast. Some fear the population explosion is cre-
A flood watch is in effect in the Baton Rouge area through Friday morning, as the chance of rain ranges from 40% to 90% through the week, the National Weather Service said. “A very moist air mass will be in place across the area for the next several days,” the agency said. “Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible.” The weather service said that the heaviest rainfall, along with thunderstorms, is expected through Tuesday night, but the outlook is for rain all week, with a tapering off as the weekend approaches. “Widespread rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches are expected in the watch area through Thursday night, with isolated totals considerably higher,” the agency said. Excessive runoff may bring flooding of rivers, creeks and other lowlying and flood-prone areas, the weather service said. The rainfall is due to a disturbance forming over northeast Mexico that could become the first named storm of this year’s hurricane season once it remerges in the Gulf of Mexico, bringing intense rainfall, life-threatening flooding and gusty winds over much of Louisiana, according to forecasters. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said the trough of low pressure’s chances of development
PROVIDED PHOTO
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates more than 17,000 new residents have arrived in Walton County, Fla., since 2020, growing the region’s population by 24%. ating congestion that threatens their paradise. But Modica views it as a gift. “Look at all these people,” he said as he glanced out at the bustling sidewalk. “They’re happy. How could that be wrong?” The story unfolding across this gleaming stretch of coastline is remarkable: The U.S. Census Bureau estimates more than 17,000 new residents have arrived since 2020,
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101ST yEAR, NO. 351