Louisiana schools would receive, on average, about 5% less funding under Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to pay for teacher stipends, officials said.
The governor’s order — which still needs lawmakers’ approval — redirects $168 million in funding for schools to cover the cost of stipends and associated retirement contributions.
The Louisiana Department of Education estimates the stipends — $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for support staff — will run school systems anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, depending on the number of employees.
Louisiana lawmakers will vote on Landry’s executive order, which needs approval from two-thirds of both the state House and Senate. Votes are due online by June 23 since the legislature isn’t in session.
In the past, lawmakers have added money to the budget, but Landry wants schools to cover the cost this year.
“It is time for these school boards to tighten their belts,” Landry said at a press conference this month after voters rejected his plan to fund a permanent raise.
The governor has suggested that districts can afford to pay their teachers more — and should — without state help. He’s also accused school systems of sitting on funds and spending money on the wrong things, like football fields or paying administrators too much.
Teacher pay in Louisiana is below the regional average, but varies greatly by parish. On the high end, starting teachers with a bachelor’s degree make $63,000 in St. Charles, compared to $43,500 in Evangeline.
School leaders pushed back on Landry’s framing at a state board of education meeting on Tuesday, their first public opportunity to respond.
Superintendents, along with education officials and board members, said districts are required to maintain large reserves in case of emergencies, like hurricanes, and to support cash flow.
Board member Kevin Berken said he spoke with a group of superintendents this week, including Tommy Byler of Vermilion Parish.
“What I heard yesterday from you and the rest is, ‘We’re not cutting fat, we’re cutting meat,’” Berken said in an exchange with Byler at Tuesday’s meeting.
Byler, who is also the incoming president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, said the organization opposes Landry’s order because it takes away a decision that should be made locally, since some systems can make cuts easier than others.
Impact on school districts
At Landry’s request, lawmakers recently formed a bipartisan task force to review the state’s school funding formula to find money for a permanent pay raise for teachers and support staff.
The formula is already reviewed annually by a committee that includes state board members and school finance leaders. In recent years, members have advocated for funding increases but have largely been ignored.
Beth Scioneaux, Louisiana’s chief school finance officer, said if lawmakers approve Landry’s order, her department will subtract the money needed for the exact number of stipends in each parish from the funding it sends to those schools.
The Vermillion Parish School System, for example, would receive about $2 million less from the state to cover stipends for about 620 teachers and 460 support staff, as well as retirement contributions for those amounts.
Byler told state board members his options are to cut his system’s budget or dip into reserves — something not every district can afford.
If lawmakers approve the governor’s order, Byler said he plans to spend another $700,000 on stipends for some employees not covered by the governor’s order, including his pre-K staff.
Landry said he deliberately left out principals and administrators, but he also excluded therapists, counselors and nurses. Positions that serve students indirectly, like maintenance workers, are included in his plan.
Scioneaux said adding everyone back who has received stipends in the past would require an additional $30 million.
The governor’s order says the $168 million the state would withhold from schools must come from “non-instructional dollars,” which are supposed to make up no more than 30% of school spending.
Landry said districts should avoid cutting security, transportation and food services, and use any savings they have first.
Scioneaux said if lawmakers approve the proposal, the department will spread the reduction across its monthly payments to districts starting in July.
State funding stalls
Schools last received an increase in per-student funding in 2019, and for operational expenses, like fuel and insurance, in 2008.
Louisiana received $4 billion in federal aid for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that money had to be spent on one-time expenses, like tutoring, technology and building upgrades.
That funding is gone now, and the state still hasn’t increased funding. Board member Preston Castille said there’s a growing gap, especially in communities with less local revenue. Districts have reported rising health and property insurance costs in particular, expenses they can’t do without.
“The formula hasn’t been changed for quite some time, but I think the challenges continue to become more difficult,” said Castille, whose district stretches from Acadiana to Washington Parish in the east. “The reality is, particularly in my district, there are some very poor districts that frankly we can’t tax anymore.
“I think school districts are doing their best, but I think that [they] need more help, not less.”
