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Gov. John Bel Edwards ‘plan to raise teachers’ salaries by $ 400 a year was greeted by teacher leaders on Friday.
“The governor is so cheap with these raises that we can’t buy a tank of gas every pay period with his so-called raise,” said Keith Courville, executive director of the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana, one of the three state teachers’ organizations.
“We continue to fall behind,” Courville said. “We have to improve.”
Tia Mills, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said teachers were disappointed with the proposal.
“A lot of them have already done the math,” Mills said. “To them, it’s a slap in the face.”
LAE, like the Louisiana Teachers ‘Federation, has been Edwards’ longtime political ally.
The governor’s executive budget was unveiled at a meeting of the powerful Joint Legislative Budget Committee on Friday.
The session begins April 12.
Administration Commissioner Jay Dardenne told the committee that while the increase would be smaller than in previous years, it would bring the state up to the regional average.
Asked about the criticism later today, Edwards told reporters he was required to present a balanced budget within a limited budget and remained committed to shifting average teacher pay to the regional average.
Louisiana teachers were paid an average of $ 50,923 for the 2018-19 school year, the latest figures available.
The regional average for the 16 states was $ 54,930, a difference of $ 4,007. The gap between Louisiana and the regional average salary widened by 74% between 2019 and 2020. Edwards is committed to reaching the regional average by the end of his term in 2024.
The gap between the average salary of teachers in Louisiana and the southern regional average increased by 74% last year, according to the late …
The US average is $ 58,540.
Edwards’ $ 40 million compensation plan would also include a $ 200 pay hike for support workers, which are cafeteria workers, school bus drivers and others.
The Louisiana Teachers’ Federation, in a memo to members Thursday night, called the proposed annual salary hike of $ 400 small.
“Being an educator is harder than ever,” says the post. “This year, teacher morale has dropped. If we do not work to resolve this issue now and show our teachers and school staff how much we value their service, our schools will continue to lose talented staff and our students will suffer. “
Leaders of the group urged teachers to pressure the governor, legislature and the National Council for Primary and Secondary Education to support a “significant and lasting” pay rise for teachers and other staff in the school. school.
The LFT did not specify how much that should be.
When it comes to pay, Louisiana public school teachers are better than average at first, then drop in rankings for the rest o…
Courville said he was in favor of an increase of $ 4,000 per year for teachers.
He also said wage increases may be justified amid a pandemic amid high unemployment state and nationwide.
“Teachers are essential front-line workers,” Courville said.
Mills said she was also in favor of a salary increase for teachers of $ 4,000, “that they are rewarded for the hard work they have done.”
Teachers in Louisiana last received a salary increase in 2019 – $ 1,000 per year.
In an about-face, Gov. John Bel Edwards’s office on Thursday proposed a pay hike of around $ 500 for teachers, less than two weeks after the government …
Edwards offered a $ 500 pay rise last year, but it was suspended after the coronavirus pandemic caused state revenues to plummet.
The governor said funds are available this time around due to an injection of federal aid for Louisiana’s Medicaid program.
The spending plan is for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
According to Edwards’ spending plan, basic public support to public schools would be essentially frozen, as has been the case for most of the past decade.
Senate Speaker Page Cortez R-Lafayette has said he supports the $ 400 proposal.
“It’s hard not to do,” Cortez told reporters after Friday’s budget presentation. “I’ll be 100% for that.”
The governor’s proposal marks the start of a long debate that will likely last until the Legislative Assembly adjourns in June.
BESE will be submitting its own public school budget to the Legislature in the coming weeks.
In addition, the working group on the minimum core curriculum, which advises BESE, is due to meet at noon on Tuesday to discuss the same issue.
PMF is the complex formula used to allocate state aid to around 700,000 public school students.
The spending proposed by Edwards would also increase college professors’ salaries by an average of 4% and be the first of its kind in 13 years, higher education officials say.
The average salary is 14th in the region for teachers in two-year schools and 15th for four-year colleges, said the Louisiana Board of Regents.
“Today’s executive budget sends a clear message: education is critical to our success and now is the time to make strategic investments in our people,” Higher Education Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed said in a statement.
The governor’s proposal also includes roughly the same funding for the Taylor Opportunity program for students – based on merit – and Go Grants – based on need.
These amounts are respectively $ 12.2 million and $ 11 million.
Capitol News Bureau editors Mark Ballard and Sam Karlin contributed to this report
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