Budget Crisis Prompts La. to Halt Grant Payments to Colleges

Louisiana officials informed colleges in the state on Thursday that they would stop receiving the funds they need to cover their students' grants under the state's merit-based scholarship program, The Advocate reported. Governor John Bel Edwards said Thursday night that colleges and universities would be expected to make up the 20 percent of the funding (roughly $28 million) that the state is withholding, so that students themselves would be made whole as the state's contract with TOPS recipients requires.

The state is facing a $943 million budget shortfall, and major budget cuts are expected.