Local school superintendents are not on board with the governor’s plan to take $170 million in funding for public schools and use that money instead to keep paying a $2,000 stipend for teachers. Rapides Parish schools superintendent Jeff Powell says the loss of that funding will have real consequences.
“To presume that we can cut $168 million out of existing budgets and not see an impact on programs, personnel or services that have led to the historic academic gains across this state is naive at best,” Powell said.
Powell also serves as the president of the Louisiana Association of Superintendents.
The governor’s teacher pay plan needs two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate, who have until June 23rd to submit their mail-in ballots. Powell says school leaders are talking to their local senators and representatives.
“Really to make sure that our representatives and our senators are fully informed of the actual and potential implications to what could be catastrophic cuts for many school systems,” Powell said.
During a press conference last week, Landry described how his plan is doable because there is public school funding that goes unaccounted for every year. He’s directed local school systems to use non-instructional dollars to pay the $2,000 stipend for teachers and $1,000 for support workers. But Powell says non-instructional dollars cover a lot of the operating costs.
“Think about how much diesel fuel cost at the beginning of this school year versus what they cost now,” Landry noted.