Public hearing scheduled after pushback on Landry’s teacher pay plan

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Education leaders across the state are demanding answers from the governor on his plan to pay teachers their $2,000 stipends this year. It’s led lawmakers in the Senate to schedule a public hearing for Tuesday, June 23.

The plan would force a 5 percent cut for most districts, and many are worried it could lead to program cuts and even school closures.

Karen Triche, executive director of the Louisiana Association of Teachers and a former ninth grade teacher at Zachary High School, now represents principals across the state.

“We know where great education lies, the crime rate is lower, we know all the ramifications of it, so this should not be something we mess around with,” Triche said.

Concerns over funding formula restructuring

Over her career, Triche has seen the teacher pay issue debated time and time again. More recently, after some failed proposals by the legislature, Gov. Jeff Landry has asked lawmakers to approve a plan that would force school districts to dip into their rainy day funds to give teachers their $2,000 stipends this year.

The governor describes it as a restructuring of the school funding formula. The plan has Triche and other education leaders concerned.

“I mean you don’t help the educator and hurt education, and I think that’s what this does. It hurts education,” Triche said.

Principals aren’t the only ones concerned. School districts have been coming to BESE to tell the state they cannot sustain this plan long term.

“They feel like they got one year where they can do this thing. After that, then it’s services, then it’s employees, that type of thing,” said Kevin Berkin, BESE vice president.

Public hearing scheduled

A letter sent to lawmakers by education leaders across the state led to a public hearing being scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 16. The joint letter from the LA Schools Boards Association, LA Association of School Superintendents & Administrators and LA Association of Principals was sent to the chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee and House Appropriations Committee.

“Although we agree that teachers and support staff are deserving of pay increases, we fear that funding these stipends by cutting the MFP is much more significant than touted and may negatively impact the great gains public schools have been showing in recent years,” the letter said.

At the meeting, Triche and other leaders seek clarity on what pots of money within the state’s school funding formula school districts can dip into for this plan. The governor’s executive order said they could not touch 70 percent of the formula set aside for classroom instruction, alongside transportation and school lunches. That leaves rainy day funds as a target, Triche said.

“That unknown can’t stand. These kids have to have a school to go back to in August. They have to have the support they have to have all they need, teachers that are ready to teach them. They have to have all the instructional materials, they have to have the lights on — all those things happen. That’s not something we can play with,” Triche said.

Louisiana has seen some major progress in schools over the past few years, leading the country in K-12 academic growth in large part due to teachers.

“So why pull the rug out at this time?” Triche said.

It’s progress that many believe could be stalled if districts are forced to squeeze their budgets. Lawmakers have until June 23 at 5 p.m. to vote on the governor’s plan. It would require approval from two-thirds of both the state House and Senate in order to take effect.

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