Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is recommending, in a resolution to state lawmakers, that teachers get a one-time stipend next year – rather than a raise. Louisiana Public Radio reports the move is backed by the state’s superintendent of education and Governor Jeff Landry.
In addition to a $2,000 stipend for teachers, and $1,000 to school support workers, schools would have access to bonuses toward educational staff, based on performance, and in hard-to-fill roles. The pay formula goes next to the state legislature, ahead of the regular legislative session that gets underway on Monday, March 11.
But many educators argue a permanent pay raise is needed. The average salary in Louisiana was about $54,000 during the 2021-22 school year. According to the Southern Regional Education board, that’s almost $12,700 less than the national average. Louisiana’s average teacher pay falls short of levels in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Landry says with a portion of the state’s sales tax set to lapse, increasing teacher salaries is out of reach. But critics counter that the governor has simultaneously requested permanent five figure pay raises for many of his cabinet secretaries.
