Laf. Special Ed center millage up for renewal

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A large part of the budget for a South Lafourche life skills center for people with cognitive disabilities will be in the hands of voters this Saturday.

Voters in Lafourche’s 10th Ward will vote to renew a millage for the Lafourche Parish Special Education District No. 1. The 4.98 mills go toward funding the Cut Off center, which provides service and support for adults with cognitive disabilities.


According to Rose Grabert, executive director at the center, the renewal is critical as state legislators consider budget cuts to address a $750 million deficit in Louisiana’s upcoming fiscal year. If the state cuts Medicaid funding, organizations such as District No. l’s center would receive less monetary reimbursement per

hour of service provided.

“Where the Medicaid dollar stops, the millage takes over so that we can continue the services that we do,” Grabert said.


Those services include recreational activities for the center’s clients, as well as life skills training and job opportunities within the agency. Those jobs, while generally paying sub-minimum wages and losing the center money, give the clients a “sense of self-worth,” according to supervisor Torie Lee.

Grabert said a reduction in funding at the state and local level would put many of their clients’ jobs at risk.

“That’s their job just like we have a job. They come to work everyday when they come over here. So, it would be devastating for them if we could not allow that to happen,” she said.


The center currently accepts Lafourche clients from the entirety of Lafourche Parish, and has about 65 clients who come each day. Those coming from outside of the 10th Ward have to provide a Medic aid waiver to reimburse the program, and Grabert said the program has some clients from South Lafourche that rely on millage dollars. If the millage were not renewed, she said the center would only be able to accept those with Medicaid waivers.

The program has received millage funding for the past 40 years, with 10th Ward residents renewing it every 10 years. The last two times the millage was on the ballot, voters have approved it with at least 78 percent support. Though the measure gives the center the ability to take out 4.98 mills per year, it is not required to use the whole amount, with the rest being reimbursed to landowners. According to Grabert, the program has used 2 mills each of the last two years.

The center’s staff said they were hopeful voters would renew the tax, as they would not want their jobs to be altered dramatically. Lee called her occupation “the most awesome job in the world,” while her fellow supervisor Clacey Babin spoke of the kind-hearted, honest individuals she gets to work with each day.


Clients organize beads at The Center, located in Cut Off. The program, which offers life skills training and jobs to those with cognitive disabilities, has its 10-year millage up for renewal on this weekend’s ballot.

COURTESY