Louisiana news briefs

LSU’s graduation rate at all-time high
BATON ROUGE (AP) — For the third year in a row LSU has notched an all-time high graduation rate, with 69.1 percent of students walking away from the university with a degree in hand — the highest graduation rate out of all public universities in the state.
LSU saw 66.7 percent of eligible students graduate the prior year.
The rates are determined by calculating the number of first-time freshmen who complete school within six continuous years at the same institution.
It means that LSU had its most successful period ever in enrolling students in 2007 and shepherding them through to graduation by the end of 2013.
LSU’s numbers were calculated internally and won’t be official until they are validated by the State Board of Regents.

Embattled BESE member submits more expenses
BATON ROUGE (AP) — State documents how Walter Lee, a member of Louisiana’s top school board under investigation for double billing, has submitted another $3,600 of travel expenses.
The last request, $394.48 to travel to Baton Rouge, covered a trip that took place two days after Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera accused Lee of improperly collecting $13,073 from the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for expenses he did not personally pay.
DeSoto Parish District Attorney Richard Johnson has said he plans to seek charges of felony theft and malfeasance against Lee amid allegations in Purpera’s report.
Purpera said Lee he paid for his travel with a credit card from the DeSoto Parish school system, but did not forward his reimbursement from BESE to the school district.

BESE backs changes to public school financing
BATON ROUGE (AP) — The state’s top school board is considering changes to the way it divvies up $3.5 billion in annual funding for public schools, embracing ideas Tuesday that would increase spending on technical training and special education.
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education won’t draft its final school funding formula proposal until March. But nearly all members of the board backed recommendations for tweaks from a task force that spent four months reviewing the current formula.
The task force suggested increased spending on technical courses and special education students, an increased cost of about $15 million. It also suggested an inflationary boost, a move that would roll a one-time, $69 million increase that lawmakers approved this year into the formula and continue it each year.
The ideas will be incorporated into the 2014-15 financing plan devised by BESE and submitted to lawmakers for consideration in the legislative session that begins in March, to pay for the state’s 70 school districts.
Lawmakers can only approve or reject the formula submitted each year by BESE.

Jazz Fest lineup announced
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Santana, Phish and Christina Aguilera are among the headliners of this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Jazz Fest may also turn into a bit of a twerk fest with “Blurred Lines” singer Robin Thicke on the lineup.
In all, about 5,000 entertainers will play the festival on about a dozen stages April 25 to May 4.
The lineup, announced Tuesday, includes local favorites. Among them are Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Aaron Neville and Kermit Ruffins.
The festival’s first weekend of performances is April 25 to 27. Performances in the second weekend start May 1 and run through May 4.

B.R. home sales rose 15% in 2013
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Baton Rouge metro area home sales increased by 15 percent during 2013, continuing a steady recovery from the national recession that followed a spike in sales after Hurricane Katrina.
According to figures provided by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, there were 8,690 closed sales in 2013, compared with 7,483 in 2012.
Though 2013 doesn’t rival the Hurricane Katrina-aided years from 2005 to 2007, last year fell only 59 houses shy of the 8,749 sold pre-Katrina in 2004 in the Capital Region.
Saiward Pharr Hromadka, a spokeswoman for the realtors association, said the median sale price for a home in metro Baton Rouge increased by 4.2 percent during the year, going up from $167,000 to $174,000.

Teacher arrested
in DWI, hit and run, loses job
GONZALES (AP) — An Ascension Parish religious school has fired an elementary student teacher arrested Monday for DWI and hit-and-run shortly after she was asked to leave the Gonzales-area school.
Ascension Christian Elemenary School officials say 36-year-old Jamie Ingrassia, of Gonzales, was “released from employment” Tuesday after meeting with school administrators.
Sgt. Steven Nethken says Ingrassia was booked Monday on counts of felony hit-and-run, careless operation of a vehicle and second-offense DWI. She was released after posting a $1,690 bond.
Nethken said Ingrassia was given a Breathalyzer test and her blood-alcohol content was 0.285 percent. A reading of 0.08 percent is considered presumptive evidence of drunken driving in Louisiana.

Voucher defense costs increasing by $750,000
BATON ROUGE (AP) — The price tag for defending Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education policies against legal challenges is growing.
The Department of Education is boosting its contracts for outside lawyers by $750,000, to represent the department in lawsuits tied to Jindal’s voucher program that uses tax dollars to send children to private schools.
The education department’s contract with Washington-based law firm Cooper & Kirk is growing from $150,000 to $650,000. The agency’s contract with the Louisiana-based Faircloth Law Group — the law firm of Jindal’s former executive counsel, Jimmy Faircloth — is rising from $20,000 to as much as $270,000.

Alderman named mayor of Oberlin
OBERLIN (AP) — The Oberlin Town Council has selected Alderman Mark Manuel as the town’s new mayor to succeed Rick Smith, who resigned last week.
Manuel, who has served on the council for 11 years, will serve until municipal elections are held in October.
Smith announced his resignation Jan. 8 citing lack of communications and willingness to work together among the mayor and town officials.
A resignation notice received by the Secretary of State’s Office on Jan. 10 gave no reason for stepping down.
A recent audit found 16 infractions, including half a dozen considered violations of state laws.
The town is also operating with a more than $300,000 deficit with many bills left unpaid as town officials consider increasing water and sewer rates to generate more revenue.

New bike lanes at UL-Lafayette near completion
LAFAYETTE (AP) — Officials say work to restripe St. Mary Boulevard to carve out new bike lanes through the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus is scheduled to be finished by the end of the week.
The project was initially scheduled to be complete before the start of the spring semester Wednesday but has been delayed because of rainy weather.