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BATON ROUGE – LSU has announced the names of the students who have made the Dean’s List and the President’s Honor Roll for the spring 2019 semester.
Undergraduate students enrolled in at least 15 credit hours who earned grade-point averages of 4.0 or higher during the semester are listed on the President’s Honor Roll. Undergraduate students who earned grade-point averages of 3.5 to 3.99 in at least 15 credit hours are listed on the Dean’s List.

President’s Honor Roll

College of Agriculture
Colt Thomas Hardee, Kaplan
Alyssa Naomi Veazey, Erath

College of Humanities
& Social Sciences
Rebekah Ann Bourgeois, Abbeville
Taylor Camille Schaefer, Abbeville

College of Science
Margaret Ann Carey, Maurice

Dean’s List

College of Human
Sciences & Education
Marissa C Amos, Maurice
Zoe Elise Graham, Maurice
Tori Lynn Vaughn, Abbeville

College of Humanities
and Social Sciences
Sara E Mire, Delcambre
Ariel D Plowden, Maurice

E.J. Ourso College of Business
Olivia Adele Gabor, Abbeville

Manship School of
Mass Communication
Melissa Tien Kim, Abbeville
Lauren Elizabeth Lattier, Abbeville

University College Center
for Advising and Counseling
Matthew Jude Comeaux, Maurice
Christiana Marie Waskom, Abbeville

April 30, 1949 ~ May 8, 2019

ABBEVILLE — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church honoring the life of Mary Migues, 70, who died Wednesday, May 8, 2019. She will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Father Louie Richard officiating the services. Pallbearers will be Rodney Dupre Jr., Smiley Menard, Kyle Gary, Tommy J. Touchet, Clifford Touchet, and Curly Porrier. Honorary pallbearers will be Kailyn Marie Dupre, Destini Renee Dupre, Cheyenne Rochelle Dupre, Mackenzie Faith Dupre, Harley Mae Dupre, Jace Joseph Wendell Dupre, Payson Nicole Moore, Liam Joseph Touchet, and Harmony Marie Lennie.
Mary is survived by her daughter, Debbie Dupre and her husband Rodney; companion, Curly Porrier; two brothers, Wilbert "Smiley" Menard and his companion Judy, and Clifford Menard; sister, Cecile Touchet and her husband Clifford; granddaughter, Myrandalyn Touchet; grandson who she raised since 3 years old, Tommy J. Touchet and his companion Taylor Sarradet; grandchildren Kailyn Marie Dupre, Destini Renee Dupre, Cheyenne Rochelle Dupre, Mackenzie Faith Dupre, Harley Mae Dupre, Jace Joseph Wendell Dupre; and numerous great grandchildren; and a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Eraste Menard and the former Olive St. Amant; son, Tommy Touchet; first husband, Edhrus Touchet; second husband, Adam Migues; and numerous siblings.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Monday, May 13, 2019 from 11:00 AM until time of services on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. A rosary will be prayed on Monday, May 13, 2019 at 7:00 PM.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

By Madeline Meyer and Sheridan Wall
LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A state education board defied House leaders Tuesday and refused to back down from its proposal for $39 million in state aid to schools even though that could put a teacher pay raise in jeopardy.
The move sets up the biggest showdown of the legislative session. Gov. John Bel Edwards is backing the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education against House leaders who also support a teacher pay hike but do not want to give local school districts more money.
By law, the board sets the amount of state money to be provided to schools, and the Legislature can only vote that up or down. So if the board does not back down, any raise that the Legislature approves for teachers would be just a one-time stipend and not a permanent part of their paychecks.
Teachers, representatives from education advocacy groups and school superintendents all told the board Tuesday that they were willing to take that risk because the school districts have not had an increase in state aid in a decade.
Deborah Meaux, the president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, which lobbies for K-12 employees, said that BESE’s proposal “is the best plan that can make sure it is sustainable and we are not back here again next year asking for the same money.”
“We don’t want a one-and-done,” she said. “We want to make sure investment in education is ongoing,”
The board also is counting on the Senate, which is generally more receptive to Edwards’ proposals, to help negotiate a better deal.
The Senate Education Committee voted 6-1 in favor of BESE’s plan last Thursday. But Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, opposed the request and questioned whether enough state revenue is available.
The committee then called on BESE to meet to discuss the matter.
Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, is running for re-election, and some Republican legislators are hesitant to give him a victory by approving the education plan.
The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee on Monday advanced its own budget proposal, including a $1,200 pay raise for teachers and $600 for other school workers.
Edwards has proposed giving the teachers an extra $1,000 a year, with $500 more for the support workers.
But the House proposal does not include the $39 million in block grants for the school districts, which Edwards supports.
Gary Jones, the president of BESE, said that the board is pushing hard for the extra money because the state’s finances have stabilized after several years of turmoil.
“This year we are in a different position,” he said. “This year, for the first time in recent memory. There are some funds available, and the question is how those funds will be distributed.”
Donald Songy, the executive policy officer for Edwards, said the governor remains “really confident” that BESE’s plan will be fully funded.
The school superintendents who spoke in favor of BESE’s plan were among roughly 20 superintendents from across the state who attended to show their support.
BESE’s plan, called the Minimum Foundation Program, or MFP, includes $101 million for the teacher pay raise and $39 million for the schools.  
BESE included the raise in the plan so that it would become part of the base salary for each school worker.
Rep. Cameron Henry, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, noted Monday that while he supported raises to bring teacher salaries closer to the Southern average, the state already spends roughly the regional average per pupil in school costs. Republicans also have said that the state does not scrutinize how local districts spend the grant money.
But even with the support for teachers in the House, any pay raise would just be like a one-time bonus if BESE and the Legislature cannot agree on a broader funding plan.

After a 2 1/2 hour Vermilion Parish School Board meeting, school board president Jean Broussard ended the meeting with a bombshell.
He told the school board members, superintendent Jerome Puyau and the audience that he is resigning as a school member immediately.
“I decided two weeks ago to write a letter to the Secretary of State to resign as a school board member,” said Broussard during the meeting.
He explained he would resign as soon as the secretary of state received his letter of resignation.
Broussard, who has been a school member for 15 months, was named the president of the school board in January.
After the school board meeting, Broussard said he has thought about resigning for a few weeks. After Wednesday’s meeting, it reassured him he made the right decision, he said.
“I did this for personal reasons and many other reasons,” Broussard said. “This is something that I have been thinking about a while now.”
The next school board meeting is next week at Abbeville High School. The board will have to elect a new president of the school board.
A special election will have to be held in the near future.
Broussard replaced school board member Anthony Fontana who resigned in January of 2018.