1. After learning Louisiana has lost 140,000 students during the years of 2000-2025, I ask if we are really surprised. “Outmigration” in the state of Louisiana has been a topic of talk show host Moon Griffon for many years. Numbers don’t lie.
2. Outmigration hits particularly hard in Central Louisiana where the student population has gone down 3% since 2021- 2022. International Paper Mill, Dresser Industries, Holsum Bakery are sorely missed. Sustainable jobs such as ones offered by companies like these are so necessary. Service industries are fine and certainly necessary, but they do not drive the economy. As a friend who is highly educated and very successful in his business said to me,”Why would anyone(individual or business) come here with the lack of opportunity and high crime rate?”
3. Decisions made in the Louisiana legislature affect us all. I often feel the more the legislature does, the more Louisiana suffers. Maybe we need the approach taken in Texas where their state legislators come together every two years. Insurance reform, tort reform, tax reform . . . all need to be addressed. Non-disclosure laws to “protect” legislators from having to reveal sources that might pay for entertainment or travel of those making the laws are being discussed. A proposed bill to protect property owners’ eminent domain rights recently failed miserably in committee. (Do we really want Louisiana to become a dumping ground for Carbon Capture Sequestration for the rest of the country?) Our roads are a nightmare. Small communities are unable to function without a sufficient tax base. More will follow what is happening now in Natchez and Boyce.
4. When federal judges desegregated schools, many schools were closed, combined, and realigned. However, taxing districts remained the same, leaving citizens to pay for schools which their children do not attend or paying no taxes where their students do attend. Confusion and lack of interest in supporting school funding has resulted. This has been particularly true in Rapides Parish.
5. Taxes continue to be a major obstacle in this state. Period. Growing, progressive states have abandoned state income taxes and many of the taxes that discourage growth in the business sector. What is Louisiana doing?
6. Look at the positives that surround us. What makes the difference? Mostly leadership. Both Rapides Parish and Natchitoches Parish School Systems saw improved school performance scores that are the result of hard working leaders, administrators, and teachers who should be commended for their efforts. Woodworth continues to grow in leaps and bounds with new subdivisions in the making. Public safety and a stellar school make a difference. LSUA . . . Wow! Developing new programs, adding new facilities, enrolling more students, all of which is the most positive impact imaginable in Central Louisiana. Appreciate the leaders who make all these positives possible. Dr. Paul Coreil, Dr. Elizabeth Beard, and many others are those that come to mind. Thankfully, Proctor and Gamble continues as a top industry and employer for the area.
7. Appreciate law enforcement through Louisiana State Police, Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Department, and Alexandria Police Department, Think of the challenges they face every day in a world that has less respect for authority and a greater desire for breaking the law for their own purposes.
Conclusion:
One thing Louisiana really has: GREAT PEOPLE!! Let us do all we can to keep them here.
Howard W. Jackson, Jr.
25 Kanome Road
Lecompte, LA 71346