| 1. EDUCATION REFORM
From the Mission Statement of the Lafayette
Parish Strategic Economic Development Plan 2000-2020
To Promote Economic Development
Goal #4 Serve as a catalyst in the
development of a fully engaged, well-educated workforce.
Vision 2020 Goal No. 1 To be a Learning Enterprise in which all
Louisiana businesses, institutions and citizens are actively engaged in
the pursuit of knowledge, and where the pursuit of knowledge is deployed
to improve the competitiveness of business, the efficiency of
governmental institutions and the quality of life of citizens.
(Teacher Salary)
1. The Lafayette Parish School System must pay classroom teachers a
salary in a range to expect to attract the best educators for every
Parish student. Salaries for Lafayette Parish educators should be
competitive with neighboring Parishes and States. Lafayette Parish must
reach above the Southern Average and strive to rank in the top ten
percent nationally, and Number 1 in the State in all categories of
education in the Nation.
See Public Services Subcommittee Recommendation No. 17
Commentary
Lafayette Parish can no longer settle for nor accept any position
that places the Parish in less than the top 10% in any Nationwide
Educational Poll or Rating and expect to compete in a World Class Global
Economy.
Lafayette Parish competes not just with neighboring States, but also
with neighboring Parishes for qualified educators. Lafayette Parish now
ranks 17th in teacher pay in the State and 3rd in Acadiana. Calculations
indicate that when the present State Legislature's proposed teacher pay
increases reach classroom teachers at the end of the year 2001,
Lafayette Parish Teachers will drop to 24th in the state and below the
salaries of our neighboring Parishes. This is a direct result of the
relationship between the MFP calculations and Tax and Millage Rates for
Lafayette Parish. While the current MFP needs to be reformed, adjusted,
or changed, this is a State issue and a long-range solution. Lafayette
Parish is now a hotbed for recruitment from other States competing for
our UL graduates. Neighboring States offer starting salaries almost
double those offered in Lafayette Parish as well as signing bonus
incentives. Teachers will soon only have to leave for neighboring
Parishes to enjoy increased pay.
(Performance & Accountability)
2. Lafayette Parish teacher salaries must be directly linked to
performance. Teachers and students must be accountable. Strict standards
must be enforced and monitored by teacher and student performance
evaluations and testing. If classroom teachers cannot maintain the high
standards set by Lafayette Parish, they should teach elsewhere. The goal
must be to produce a consistently better product across the board:
better educated students.
Commentary
This subcommittee recognizes, comparatively speaking, Lafayette
Parish educators have a history of doing more with less than some
Parishes. In the year 2000, the St. Tammany Parish Public School's
average ACT score was the highest in the State of Louisiana at 21.3.
Lafayette Parish was 2nd with an average score of 20.7. The State
average ACT test score was 19.6. The national average ACT Score was 21.
The most current Lafayette Parish LEAP 21 scores indicate Lafayette
Parish scores are below neighboring parishes for 4th and 8th graders.
Lafayette Parish residents and taxpayers should expect higher
performance for higher pay. Excellence in return for Excellence.
(Continued Teacher Education & Certification)
3. Lafayette Parish teachers must be encouraged to continue their
education and strive for teacher certification. Lafayette Parish should
participate in the costs associated with continued education and
certification. Participation in costs by the Parish should be
performance based.
Commentary
Teachers should be encouraged to use programs established in the
curriculum at ULL. ULL should continue to develop ongoing programs to
ensure that we continue to develop and educate resources here in
Lafayette Parish.
(Truancy Ordinances & Clearing House)
4. L.C.G. and local municipalities must strengthen Parish truancy
ordinances and policies in accordance with State law, providing for
student and parent accountability. This subcommittee recommends the
establishment of a "Truancy Clearing House" to administer,
evaluate, and adjudicate truancy cases. This program must be empowered
by supportive participation from L.C.G., other local municipal
governments, the school system, law enforcement, and the judiciary.
Commentary
Statistics indicate that teen pregnancies, drug abuse, juvenile
theft, gang violence, and juvenile crime on the whole increase when
students are on the street and not in the classroom. This subcommittee
recommends that L.C.G. in conjunction with Law Enforcement, Community
Oriented Policing, Service Agencies, and Local Government and
Municipalities establish, with intergovernmental agreements, and State
and Federal Grants, a program similar to the Rutherford House in
Shreveport, Louisiana. Parents and students should be held accountable
and if necessary fined for noncompliance.
Truancy Resources:
Manual to Combat Truancy - 1-800-624-0100
http://www.ed.gov
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/index.html
Shreveport Louisiana’s Truancy Assessment &
Service Center
318-227-1737
http://www.NWLATruancy.org
"A Status Report on Youth Curfews in America's
Cities"
http://www.jcjrs.org/txfiles/truancy
Justice Department Program
Chronic Absenteeism Predictor of Future Delinquency
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/about/99juvjust/990517b.html
WESTMARC
"Truancy Prevention Partnership Program Information"
9017 North 57th Drive
Glendale, AZ 85302
http://wmc.emc.maricopa.edu/truancy.html
Urban Policies & Programs To Reduce Truancy
http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/digests/dig129.html
(Reduction of Administration Costs)
5. The Lafayette Parish School System must continue to strive to
reduce administrative costs and overhead in order to make the success of
the Classroom Teacher the highest priority.
Commentary
This committee recognizes that Lafayette Parish ranks in the
lower categories in taxation for school funding, and is penalized in
funding by the structure as such by Louisiana's MFP formula. It also
recognizes that Lafayette Parish has for many years continued to strive
to produce a better product with less. However, we strongly encourage a
watchful eye on administrative costs.
(Class Sizes)
6. The Lafayette Parish School System must reduce class sizes to
promote learning excellence by lower student to teacher ratios.
Commentary
While this issue is well recognized by all, it is the first to
be eliminated when funding is tight.
(Length of school day & school year)
7. The Lafayette Parish School System must increase the school year
calendar and school day to lengthen the annual classroom exposure to all
Lafayette Parish students.
Commentary
Refer to Public Services Recommendation No.'s 13 &14
(Charter Schools)
8. The Lafayette Parish School System must support and promote an
innovative, year-round "Charter School" program that maintains
the same standards and accountability expected of the Public School
System, to insure an education alternative to students at risk.
Commentary
Every attempt to educate our young people should be exhausted.
This trend is salvaging many students throughout the country. These
programs must be performance based, and should hold students and parents
accountable for their progress. It is better to educate now than to
incarcerate later.
(Career Tracks Learning Program)
9. The Lafayette Parish School System must further develop and
promote "Career Tacks Learning Programs" for Lafayette Parish
students promoting vocational learning in business, technology, and
other non-secondary trade education career paths.
Commentary
Lafayette Parish must recognize the need for skilled workers and
provide for early introduction into areas of trade and business. We are
raising and growing the next generations of citizens, teachers,
laborers, entrepreneurs, business, and community leaders for Lafayette
Parish. Will we reap what we sow, or will we have to watch our product
leave for more competitive areas?
("Total Articulation" between schools)
10. The Lafayette Parish School System must establish "Total
Articulation" between all Lafayette Parish secondary and
post-secondary schools.
Commentary
The curricula should be designed to articulate between all
Lafayette Parish Schools, and also with the university and the community
college level. Students must have the tools they need to succeed long
before they reach the secondary level. Lafayette Parish students should
expect to get an education at any public school in the Parish.
("JUST IN TIME" Education)
11. The Lafayette Parish School System must establish a "JUST IN
TIME" philosophy and strategy for education. Education must fit the
needs of business, industry, and society. Lafayette must remain time
sensitive to meet the current needs of business and economic
development, but flexible enough to adjust to future needs as well.
Commentary
Curricula should be time sensitive and fit the needs of the
students to the business and technology of the day. Just 20 to 25 years
ago, the technology sector, now so important to economic development,
was in its infancy and not taught in secondary education.
(Cultural Assets)
12. L.C.G. and local municipalities must capitalize on local cultural
assets in the arts and the humanities. One example of this would be to
promote all aspects of Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco Music by offering
instruction in traditional music as well as the business and technology
of the music industry.
Commentary
By perpetuating those unique cultural aspects of our area, we
can develop education toward the business of music. Lafayette could
become the "Nashville" of Cajun and Zydeco Music. Why not The
Cajun, Creole and Zydeco Hall of Fame here in Lafayette Parish? All
other performance and visual arts should be encouraged as well.
(Communication between Government Agencies)
13. L.C.G. and the Lafayette Parish School System along with other
Parish Municipalities must work together to carry out future planning.
There must be regularly scheduled and ongoing meetings to prompt
dialogue between the two bodies to insure that we are walking lockstep,
together toward a well-planned future.
Commentary
The building of schools, roads, bike trails, bus stops, and
other infrastructure needs are several examples of joint planning that
should take place. Schools are built to service a portion of the
community, and should be planned with transportation, safety, growth,
and access in mind. Lafayette Parish should take a pro-active philosophy
into the future, rather than one of reaction.
The discussion and timing of tax initiatives and renewals are other
examples requiring cooperation. With a comprehensive plan for growth and
development, it is imperative that all entities work in a cooperative
effort to see that these plans are carried out.
2. CONTINUING EDUCATION
Louisiana Economic Development Council Action Plan 2000
Objective 1.1 To
involve every citizen in lifelong learning.
Objective 1.6 To have a workforce with the education and skills
necessary to work productively in a knowledge-based economy.
Goal No. 2 To have an economy driven by a diverse and thriving
set of technology-intensive industries that actively utilize Louisiana's
colleges and universities as a source of well-educated graduates as
employees, a source of expertise for problem-solving, and a source of
technology for commercialization.
(Continued lifelong learning)
14. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector must
continue to aggressively support and provide life-long and distance
learning to the parish workforce. Continuing Educational programs
promote the development of qualified and skilled workers by offering
them the opportunity to update workforce skills through local
educational institutions (the University of Louisiana and Lafayette
Community College).
Commentary
As was mentioned in the previous Education Recommendations, the
curricula should articulate with those in Lafayette Parish Schools, but
should also be flexible enough to respond to the needs of business and
industry in Lafayette Parish. Previous generations benefitted from
updated technology and skills.
(Education Promotion)
15. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector must
aggressively promote public awareness on the importance of continuing
education on Economic Development. By utilizing and promoting the
workforce educational assets and resources in Lafayette Parish, the
parish becomes a more desirable location for business development and
location.
Commentary
When the workforce is more educated, it is more diverse. When
the economy is more diverse, the opportunity for our citizens to fall
into mediocrity is reduced.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is Louisiana's second
largest university with more than 16,000 students enrolled in a variety
of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. Potential employers
are assured a substantial number of diverse graduates.
Students in Lafayette Parish have the opportunity for many
certification and technical programs offered at the Community College
and private, technical school level if the University is not their
option. These fast track programs assure potential employers a quick and
ready workforce.
Each of these institutions, as well as other private institutions in
Lafayette Parish, offers the employee and the employer the opportunity
for life-long learning, which serves to improve the workforce and
attract business to our community.
While we may realize that these assets are available to all residents
of Lafayette Parish, we must also recognize that we compete with other
cities and like-institutions throughout the state.
See Public Services Recommendation No. 21 on Public
Information
Providing the Tools)
16. L.C.G., local municipalities, the business community and the
private sector must work together through grants, partnerships,
intergovernmental agreements, community trusts, and endowments to ensure
that these educational facilities possess the latest technology and
equipment to provide the tools for learning.
Commentary
Example: some private technical schools offer students a
personal computer when they enroll and upon graduation they keep the
equipment.
3. TAX REFORM
(Responsibility of all Elected Officials)
17. State, Parish, and Municipal elected officials must address the
current tax structures, which are regressive and not conducive to
economic development and business attraction to our state and region.
Elected officials are obligated to address, debate, and solve these
problems. Tax Reform should be balanced, fair, competitive with
neighboring states, pro-growth, locally-based, and revenue neutral.
Commentary
It will take courage to make tax change. "Repeating the
same behavior over and over, expecting different results is the
definition of insanity."
- All properties should be taxed fair.
- All property taxes shall be collected
4. FUNDING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Louisiana Economic Development Council
Action Plan 2000/Vision 2020
Objective 2.9 To increase the
availability of seed and venture capital invested in Louisiana firms.
(Economic Development Finance Conference)
18. L.C.G. and local municipalities, with the aid of State and
Federal Agency grants (if necessary) along with the private sector must
develop, promote, plan, and hold an "Annual Economic Development
Finance Conference" in Lafayette Parish for the purpose of
establishing Economic Development funding sources.
Commentary
Business and government together should hold an annual
conference for the purpose of seeding economic development and
attracting venture capital and resources.
The conference itself may be seeded by grants and/or local government
budgeted seed capital for a predetermined time period beyond which the
conference should take the financial responsibility for future ongoing
events.
The conference should be non-profit in that funds generated should be
for perpetuating the event and not for the profit of private
individuals.
(Funding for Local Agencies)
19. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector must
continue to fund, promote, and support the primary economic development
agencies in Lafayette Parish, as well as continue to promote
"industry parks" in strategic areas of the Parish with a
concerted effort to prevent duplication of services in order to make the
best use of available resources.
Commentary
Emphasis should be on building on the economic development
agency resources currently available and strengthening their presence in
the Parish.
Industrial Parks have played a key role in business retention and
diversification in Lafayette Parish. Rooftops follow industry, retail
follows rooftops.
(Economic Development Plan Funding)
20. L.C.G. and local municipalities must fund and adhere to a
comprehensive Economic Development Plan for the future, which places
emphasis on areas of the technology industry while continuing to
recognize and promote those industry assets we currently possess.
Commentary
While technology will continue to have the most dramatic affect
on Economic Development in the future, agriculture, oil and gas, health
services, and the retail industry, among others, should continue to be
developed and recruited. Before dollars are invested there must be a
demand.
*Recommendation No. 21 consolidated with Recommendation No. 19.
Subsequent recommendations have been renumbered.
21. The private sector must be encouraged to take a greater role in
the attraction of business development in Lafayette Parish.
5. COMMERCIALIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY
(Affordable Bandwidth)
22. L.C.G. must leverage the Lafayette Utility System fiber-optic
investment to ensure inexpensive access to bandwidth for all its
citizens.
(Technology Retraining)
23. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector must aide in
facilitating the retraining of our workforce with accepted and
standardized technology training and certification.
(Technology Accelerator)
24. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector must
establish a "Technology Accelerator."
(Intellectual Property Licensing)
25. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector must
facilitate licensing of intellectual properties from the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette to in-state private companies.
(Tier One Presence...Internet Off Ramp)
26. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector must
establish a "tier one" presence in Lafayette Parish.
Commentary
This is the development of a digital "on and off ramp"
into Lafayette from the Internet Super Highway, now only accessible
through Houston and larger metropolitan areas.
(Technology Venture Capital)
27. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
develop a strategic plan to provide seed and venture capital for
promising technology ventures.
(Government via the Internet)
28. L.C.G. and local municipalities should provide for all
governmental services to be accessed via the Internet.
6. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
Continued Development of Roads, Utilities and
Services)
29. L.C.G. and local municipalities should make business a priority
in the planning and design of the physical infrastructure. The
infrastructure of Lafayette Parish requires further development,
updating and maintenance. This infrastructure should be designed and
implemented with business routes and services in mind.
Commentary
AGAIN: Industry brings rooftops, retail follows rooftops.
(Lafayette Regional Airport)
30. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
continue the development of Lafayette Regional Airport as an
international port of entry. The service of a "Full Time"
customs agent should be funded.
Commentary
Currently the agent must be called with 24 to 48 hours notice.
If Lafayette is to attract International Business, this would be a
necessary step.
7. TOURIST RELATED INDUSTRY PROMOTION
(Business Specific Advertising Campaign)
31. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
embark on a business specific advertising campaign to promote Lafayette
Parish for business and company recruitment.
(Music Hall of Fame)
32. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
embark on a campaign to raise funds to develop and build "The
Cajun, Creole and Zydeco Music Hall of Fame" to honor contributions
to our native cultures and develop a year round tourist attraction for
the whole world to visit.
(The Industry of Music)
33. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
continue to study, quantify, develop, and promote all aspects and phases
of the Industry of Music in Lafayette realizing the Music Industry's
positive impact on Economic Development in the Region and contribution
to the Nation and other cultures around the world.
8. PROMOTING LAFAYETTE...IMPROVING THE PERCEPTION!
A Good World Image Starts with a Good Self Image)
34. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
embark on a local campaign to continue to develop personal pride in all
those who live here and contribute to the unique cultures of our region.
Lafayette Parish must believe in itself first as well as its assets and
contributions to the state, nation, and the world in order to compete
and participate in a global economy.
(Pride in Physical Appearance)
35. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
embark on a campaign for a "No Tolerance for Litter" attitude
and pride in the physical appearance of our unique part of the globe.
(Promote Technology Locally)
36. L.C.G., local municipalities, and the private sector should
embark on a campaign to promote the benefits of technology use in our
homes and businesses.
9. EFFICIENCY IN GOVERNMENT
(Ease in Business Start Up)
37. L.C.G, local municipalities, and the private sector should
streamline all governmental processes involved in business start-up and
development.
(High Tech Readiness Study)
38. L.C.G. and local municipalities should fund the necessary
research to provide comparative analysis to other communities for High
Tech readiness.
(Consolidation of Governments)
39. L.C.G. and local municipalities which make up Lafayette Parish
should consistently and periodically revisit and review institutional
structure, in open dialogue with its residents, to improve the
effectiveness, efficiency, and representation of the current forms of
government.
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