By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square

School choice advocates are challenging the idea that cutting $50 million from Gov. Jeff Landry’s proposed budget for the LA GATOR scholarship program would allow the savings to be used for teacher stipends.

The Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise program, established to help low-income and special education students access private or home-based education, received more than 35,000 applications as of last week.

While Landry proposed $94 million to fund the program in his executive budget, some lawmakers are considering funding only current GATOR students—roughly $46 million—diverting the remaining $50 million to cover unbudgeted teacher stipends.

But Erin Bendily, vice president for policy and strategy at the Pelican Institute, says the numbers don’t add up.

“A $50 million cut to the GATOR appropriation doesn’t amount to $50 million in actual savings,” Bendily said. “It’s not a net increase because of the Minimum Foundation Program offsets. The problem is, that math just isn’t true.”

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley confirmed this to The Center Square.

The MFP is the state’s mechanism for funding public education. According to Bendily, most GATOR applicants are students who would otherwise attend public schools if the scholarship isn’t funded — meaning the state would still bear the cost of their education.

“These are vulnerable kids,” Bendily said. “Without a GATOR scholarship, it’s very unlikely they’re going to be able to stay in private school or afford home-based education. They’re going to end up in public schools, and the state’s going to have to pay for them anyway.”

Under current Board of Elementary and Secondary Education policy, when GATOR is underfunded, low-income and special education students are prioritized. That means the most vulnerable applicants would be the first to receive scholarships—but also the first to be affected if funding falls short.

“Over 35,000 families are saying they need something different for their kids,” Bendily said. “If we don’t honor that and we don’t fund this program…those kids are going to end up in public schools and we’re going to pay for them anyway.”

Some state officials, including Brumley, are reportedly reviewing the budget implications of defunding the program.

According to Bendily, the Department of Education is modeling various scenarios and agrees that most GATOR applicants will end up in public schools without the scholarship, triggering increased MFP costs.

Bendily noted that while GATOR scholarships cost a bit more per student than what the state typically spends through the Minimum Foundation Program, any potential savings would be minimal.

Advocates are also pushing back on the idea that defunding GATOR is necessary to fund teacher stipends. Bendily argues that the state can fund both priorities if it chooses.

“There are many places in the state budget to look for $198 million,” Bendily said. “To imply that part of it has to come from LA GATOR funding is just not true. These students — most of them below 250% of the federal poverty line — are going to be funded one way or another.”

In short, Bendily says, the argument that cutting GATOR frees up money for other priorities is misleading.