Council Ponders How To Split $40 Million Higher Ed Incentive

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana college, economic development and labor officials trying to decide how to split a new $40 million higher education incentive fund have hit a stumbling block: which jobs forecast to use.

The issue, which surfaced at a meeting Wednesday, isn't a minor one.

Deciding which degree areas are in most demand and which skills are most valuable to the state will determine how the money is spent — and which schools get the dollars.

Gov. Bobby Jindal and lawmakers set aside the money for college research and training programs that will fill high-demand jobs in the state.

A council set up to make recommendations for spending the money didn't settle on which forecast to use, instead saying that will be decided at a future meeting.