Landry, lawmakers convening task force to find money for teacher stipends

(The Center Square) — Gov. Jeff Landry and legislative leaders announced plans to create a task force to review Louisiana’s public school funding formula, saying the state must find a permanent way to fund teacher and support staff pay raises without raising taxes.It remains uncertain whether teachers will receive the $2,000 stipend they have received in recent years.The Minimum Foundation Program currently allocates about $6.2 billion for schools, including roughly $4 billion in state money and $2 billion in local funding. Total public education funding in Louisiana reaches about $13 billion when federal funds and additional local resources are included.Landry and Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, questioned how the state could spend that much on public education while still struggling to fund the stipends, which have cost roughly $200 million.“Of all the sources of funding that go to public education, the total dollar amount is $13 billion,” Henry said. “There is no way we can’t find a permanent pay raise in those dollars.”It is not clear which specific areas of school spending the task force will target. Landry said the review is meant to determine where education dollars are going and whether the current formula reflects the state’s needs.Last week, lawmakers rejected the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s proposed formula adjustment, which would have added $30 million for operational costs tied to inflation-related expenses. The proposal came as public school enrollment is projected to decline by about 12,000 students.During Tuesday’s press conference, Landry pointed to a longer enrollment decline, saying public school enrollment has fallen by more than 100,000 students since 1988 while “the amount that we’re spending per student has doubled.”The task force’s recommendations would ultimately have to go through the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which proposes the program before lawmakers approve or reject it. The board will have a seat on the panel, which could keep its proposed operational-cost increase part of the discussion.“For too many years, Louisiana’s teachers and support workers have been told, ‘Next year,’” Landry said. “Next year we’ll find the money. Next year, in my opinion, is no longer acceptable.”Landry also addressed recent media reports about budget amendments authorizing the use of $800 million from a state savings account, none of which was directed toward teacher stipends.Landry said the money could not be used for the stipends. Still, critics argue that currently funded projects could be removed to free up money for recurring needs.The constitution allows lawmakers to draw from the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund when its balance at the start of the fiscal year exceeds $5 billion, but only for two purposes: capital outlay projects in the state capital budget or transportation infrastructure. The latest budget includes projects tied to universities, playgrounds, parks, aerospace programs and high school athletic venues.The task force will include appointees from legislative leaders, the chairs of the House and Senate finance and education committees or their designees, the state superintendent of education or a designee, the board, and representatives from school board and superintendent associations. Henry said Republican and Democratic legislative leaders will also be included.“We applaud Governor Jeff Landry and legislative leaders for bringing stakeholders together through this task force to focus on long-term solutions for teacher compensation,” BESE said in a statement. “It is important that we work collaboratively to provide competitive pay that helps recruit and retain high-quality educators across our state.”The governor said the goal is to make the upcoming school year the last one in which teachers have to wait to see whether lawmakers approve a stipend.Henry also said lawmakers will create a separate task force to review the state’s higher education funding formula. That panel will be led by Sen. Jeremy Stine Reese, who has been named president of McNeese State University, and will examine whether higher education dollars are being distributed appropriately.Landry said both reviews are intended to modernize state funding formulas.“The era of patchwork stipends and year-to-year uncertainty is over,” Landry said. “Teachers deserve certainty. They deserve stability. They deserve respect in the form of a permanent pay raise.”