DA: Budget cuts threaten anti-truancy program BATON ROUGE, LA (wrkf) - A yearlong effort to fight truancy in East Baton Rouge parish is paying off, District Attorney Hillar Moore III said Monday. His office has run that campaign along with the parish school system. But, Moore also said state budget cuts put the entire program at risk.

Moore said unexcused absences are down 35 percent this semester from last, and the first semester of this school year had 12 percent fewer unexcused absences than the first semester of the previous year. But Moore made it clear there is still work to be done - pointing out some 11 percent of students in EBR schools have missed 5 or more days this spring.

State funding is crucial to continued improvements keeping kids in school, Moore said. According to a fact sheet released Monday, the Jindal administration is proposing what amounts to a 43 percent cut to Truancy Assessment Service Centers over a two-year period.

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