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Gov. Jeff Landry and legislative leaders are pushing back on claims from public school leaders that the governor鈥檚 plan to pay for teacher stipends with school operations funds would hurt public education across Louisiana.

The governor announced a tweak Monday to his original proposal that would allow school districts already giving pay increases to teachers this year to sidestep his state stipend requirement.

Louisiana鈥檚 Legislative Auditor Michael Waguespack also released an analysis Tuesday indicating that most school districts could afford to go along with the governor鈥檚 stipend strategy. The auditor is hired by state lawmakers but also Landry鈥檚 political ally.

Waguespack鈥檚 report came out a week before legislators must vote on whether to move ahead with Landry鈥檚 stipend proposal. Two-thirds of members in each chamber of the legislature must approve his plan .

Through an executive order issued two weeks ago, Landry in order to continue $2,000 and $1,000 pay stipends teachers and school support staff workers received, respectively, for the past three years.

Landry said the money cannot come from funds that support classroom instruction, transportation, food programs or school security programs. This leaves vulnerable money that typically covers insurance, building maintenance, grounds upkeep and general administration, according to the state education department.

The governor has also directed school districts and charters to use their savings accounts and reserve funding to prevent reductions 鈥渨here feasible.鈥�

Legislative leaders, including Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, support the governor鈥檚 plan. But rank-and-file lawmakers from both parties have expressed reservations, especially after hearing from their local school officials who worry about the potential impact of the funding reduction.

鈥淭here are concerns out there, especially from the superintendents. That is primarily who I鈥檓 hearing from,鈥� Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, who hadn鈥檛 decided how he would vote, said in an interview last week. 鈥淚鈥檓 still taking everything in and evaluating everything.鈥�

Landry adjusts plan

Possibly to appease nervous legislators, Landry announced an adjustment to his original proposal through .

鈥淭hose school districts that already gave stipends or raises exceeding or equal to $2,000 (teachers) $1,000 (support staff) can simply use the MFP stipend allocation to backfill their budgets,鈥� Landry wrote.

On Tuesday afternoon, the governor鈥檚 office said school districts would only qualify for a stipend exemption if they had given an equivalent pay increase or more in the 2026 calendar year. Local raises and stipends that went into effect before 2026 would not count.

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, for example, just voted to give its teachers raises that average $8,500 annually that will cost an estimated $21.8 million per year, . Baton Rouge legislators had been concerned about Landry鈥檚 plan requiring the school district to use an additional $10.2 million for state-level pay stipends in the coming school year.

Still, legislators and school superintendents were confused about what Landry exactly meant by his social media statement.

鈥淵ou used the word backfill. What do you mean by backfill?鈥� Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, asked Waguespack at a State Capitol hearing Tuesday when the auditor was explaining the governor鈥檚 new exemption.

Danny Garrett, general counsel for the Louisiana School Boards Association, said he believes Landry鈥檚 new stipend exemption should apply to a much wider range of school districts.

鈥淲hat if we gave a $5,000 across-the-board pay raise last year? Do we get to count that or is it just going forward?鈥� he said during the legislative hearing Tuesday. 鈥淚f we gave a $5,000 pay raise last year, we鈥檙e probably not planning to give another $5,000 this year. Do we not get credit for the $5,000 we gave last year?鈥�

Larry Carter, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, referred to Landry鈥檚 stipend adjustment as a 鈥渘ew plan鈥� for teacher pay during public testimony Tuesday. He said giving school districts more control over the stipend would lead to inequities.

鈥淓ducators want to know whether the full stipend will be guaranteed statewide,鈥� Carter said.

鈥淭hey need to know who is eligible. They need to know when they will be paid. They need to know whether every district will be required to pay the full stipend to every eligible employee, and they need to know what enforcement will exist if a district does not pay employees correctly,鈥� he said.

Most school districts can afford Landry鈥檚 plan, auditor says

Forty-four of Louisiana鈥檚 69 traditional K-12 school districts have enough savings to absorb the school operations funding cuts the governor has proposed and still keep the recommended amount of reserve funding on hand, according to an analysis by the legislative auditor鈥檚 office.

That leaves 25 school districts that could not afford the cut and still have the amount of reserves suggested by experts, according to Waguespack鈥檚 report, though the auditor said most could probably get by with less savings on hand than what is recommended.

Waguespack didn鈥檛 examine the impact on charter schools, which would also have to shift money from operations into stipends under Landry鈥檚 proposal.

Districts that could be put in a potentially vulnerable position include some of the state鈥檚 largest ones: Jefferson, Lafayette, East Baton Rouge, Ouachita, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes, according to the analysis. But some lawmakers questioned whether wealthier districts, like St. Tammany, classify their reserve funding in a way that places it off limits.

Local school leaders said the reserve fund amounts listed on the auditor鈥檚 balance sheets could be misleading. Some districts need that money to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters.

Debbie Schum, with the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board, said schools there are still waiting on $14 million in reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Reserve funding helped it repair school buildings to open again after Hurricane Ida, she said.

鈥淲e have to pay whatever it costs to be able to make sure we can make our buildings be correct facilities for children to learn in,鈥� Schum said at the legislative hearing.

State Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, pushed back on Schum and others, saying it wasn鈥檛 realistic to sit on enough reserve funding to deal with a natural disaster response.

But Randy Rentz, Caldwell Parish School Board president, said his district would have to lay off teachers if it was forced to shift more of its operational funding to pay stipends for educators, though the legislative auditor鈥檚 analysis says it has enough reserve funding on hand.

Large increases in health insurance, property insurance and utility repairs over the past decade are eating into the school district鈥檚 savings already, according to Rentz. Losing more state funding for operations will make the district鈥檚 deficit spending worse, he said.

鈥淲hen you start comparing St. Tammany Parish to smaller rural parishes like Caldwell Parish, that鈥檚 like comparing my Jack Russell to a thoroughbred horse,鈥� Rentz told lawmakers.

鈥淲e are being left out. The really small, really rural districts are being left out in this state,鈥� he added.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected].

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