BATON ROUGE — Louisiana teacher pay raises remain uncertain after voters rejected all four state constitutional amendments on March 29. Educators and unions worry about the future of the $2,000 stipend teachers have received for the past two years.
Teachers’ unions had supported Amendment 2, as the governor and legislators had tied public school teacher pay to its passage, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.
“(Louisiana Federation of Teachers) LFT has consistently advocated for paying Louisiana educators, both teachers and support staff, a wage that reflects what they are required and called to do—caring for and educating Louisiana’s children. For this reason, we support CA 2,” the union said in a statement to the Louisiana Illuminator earlier in March.
Following the amendment’s failure at the polls, Governor Jeff Landry released a statement:
“The primary goal of Amendment 2 was to create a better opportunity for our citizens. To work towards inviting people into our State rather than have them leave. Unfortunately, … far left liberals poured millions into Louisiana with propaganda and outright lies about Amendment 2.”
READ GOVERNOR’S FULL STATEMENT HERE
Angela Reams-Brown, president of the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers and School Employees, also expressed disappointment over the outcome. However, she believed many voters were overwhelmed by the amendment’s 100-plus-page length and uncertain about what they were actually voting on.
She even had to explain to her own family members what a ‘yes’ vote would have meant.
“The governor had already said early on that he was not going to allocate any money in his budget for a stipend or pay raise for teachers and support workers, so this was the one chance that they had,” she said.
Despite the setback, Reams-Brown emphasized that efforts will continue. Both the East Baton Rouge and state teachers’ unions plan to regroup and petition legislators to include pay raises in the state budget.
“I’m just not sure what that next step is, but we’re definitely disappointed that it didn’t pass,” she said.
Louisiana teachers, while earning less than their counterparts in other Southern states, continue to perform well and work hard to advance student achievement, she added.
“Our kids showed a great gain, not only in math but in reading, this past school year, so much so that the governor felt the need to go on TV and be recognized, even though he was not in office when we when we did this,” Reams-Brown said.
She criticized Gov. Landry as “disingenuous” for taking public credit for Louisiana students’ improved scores while failing to secure a permanent pay raise for teachers and school staff in the state budget.
Even without an immediate raise, she said she could speak for educators in the East Baton Rouge Parish system, affirming that they will “continue to do the best they can to move our students forward academically and socially.”
UWK reached out to the Governor’s office for more information on what could be next for the state’s teachers, but has not yet received a response.
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