Tonight the St. Landry Parish school board signed a resolution agreeing to oppose a house bill that would allow for state dollars to help pay for private school, and are urging local lawmakers to do the same. The legislative bill is house bill 745.

ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- Tonight the St. Landry Parish school board signed a resolution agreeing to oppose a house bill that would allow for state dollars to help pay for private school, and are urging local lawmakers to do the same. The legislative bill is house bill 745.

School Board President Mary Ellen Donatto says for the past two decades public education has been under-funded.

"If we are going to divert even more money away from that, that makes our situation worse financially," Donatto said.

When the school system takes state and federal dollars, guidelines and accountability requirements have to be met.

"Those accountabilities right now, as far as state testing and other tests, are not required by non-public settings and I have a problem with that," Donatto said.

Board member Anthony Standberry says he too doesn't support the idea of using public dollars to help fund private schooling and that is the part about house bill 745 that bothers him.

"Charter schools have to meet certain requirements in order to get those funds, but for those funds to follow a child to a private school, is just not what I think is fair to the under privileged," Standberry added.

The house bill also would provide stipend money to qualified parents to help with other education related resources.

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