Pay stipends for Louisiana teachers put back in state budget

The Louisiana House of Representatives leadership added money to its state budget proposal to avoid a public school teacher pay cut that was expected after a March constitutional failed to pass. 

The House Appropriations Committee approved a budget plan Monday that contains $198 million to cover stipends for K-12 school teachers and school support staff. They are in line to receive $2,000 and $1,000, respectively, in the 2025-26 academic year. 

House leaders found the money by delaying $92 million worth of government acquisitions, including the purchase of new state vehicles and equipment, for another year. Legislators also proposed paying off retirement debt for Louisiana State Police troopers early, resulting in an additional $25.5 million in savings that would be used to cover the teacher stipends. 

House leadership will also sideline a “high-dosage” tutoring program for public school students that was put in place after the COVID-19 pandemic to find another $30 million for the stipend. 

Their strategy also relies on a temporary state government hiring freeze and the elimination of state employee “work from home” benefits to produce at least $20 million in savings. 

The Louisiana Department of Health would also lose $26.3 million in state funding under the House leadership plan. These savings will be achieved, in part, by removing people from Medicaid who have moved out of Louisiana or otherwise don’t qualify for the government health insurance.

The health department has recently started to check its Medicaid enrollment information against the state’s Office of Motor Vehicle database in order to cut coverage for people who no longer live in Louisiana.

The state also conducted an extensive Medicaid enrollment check during most of last year as part of a national effort to reduce Medicaid bloat from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear how much the ongoing OMV review will cover the same ground. 

In addition to the teachers’ stipend, the House leadership also added funding to avoid cuts to domestic violence shelters and advocacy centers that provide services to children who are victims of crime. They also added approximately 750 more slots for seniors and people with disabilities to receive home assistance as well as tens of millions of dollars worth of lawmakers’ pet projects. 

Notably, the House leadership has avoided cutting any funding for the new LA GATOR private school voucher program that Gov. Jeff Landry favors. If the governor gets his way, nearly $100 million of public money will be used to cover private education costs next school year.

Teachers have been at risk of losing their pay stipend – given out the past two years instead of a permanent salary increase – after voters rejected a state constitutional amendment March that the governor pushed.

The amendment would have made dozens of changes to Louisiana’s tax and budget structure, a few of which were expected to produce enough savings to make the stipend a permanent part of teachers’ salaries. Nearly two-thirds of voters balked at the overall proposal, however, deeming it too complicated.

Before the election, Landry and Republican lawmakers said teachers would only retain their current pay level if the amendment passed. But after the amendment failed by a large margin, several legislators retreated from that stance.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, said the majority of House members have told him in recent weeks that they wanted to find a way to keep the teacher stipend in place this year.

The leader of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the state’s largest teacher union,  was encouraged by the budget change.

“We think this is a good first step,” LFT president Larry Carter said in an interview.

The solution is temporary, however. All of the funding McFarland has proposed to cover teacher stipends won’t be available again next year. 

House leaders are hoping the stipend won’t be needed in 2026 because the state will have the resources to offer teachers and support staff permanent salary increases. They are pushing to put several segments of the amendment that failed in March back on the ballot next spring as simpler, individual ballot items. They include the constitutional changes needed to free up money for the teacher salary bump equivalent to the current stipend. 

The Louisiana House is scheduled to vote on the budget proposal Thursday. The Senate will then take up the proposal, and the two sides must reach an agreement on the funding plan by June 12.