Louisiana Department of Education looks at targeting teacher stipends to high-need positions

Shannon Heckt
·2 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Louisiana Department of Education reported to the legislature that it has made major gains in getting more teachers but there is still a lot of work to do.

State Superintendent Cade Brumley talked to the Appropriations Committee about how he did ask for more funding for teacher pay raises in early childhood education. The stipend of $196-million will remain in the budget for one more year — but is not anticipated on being permanent. Now they’re finding other ways to incentivize teachers and help children get the education that they need.

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He announced that the state has dropped from being 2,400 teachers short to just 1,000.

The Louisiana Department of Education’s budget is coming out to be $7.3 billion. The teacher stipend that was allocated last year won’t be in the budget this year. But DOE is asking for $25-million to use for targeting specific positions, such as high school math and science, to incentivize teachers to take those jobs. Brumley said he did ask to keep the stipend, but understands the reality of the state’s finances.

“It’s not just about pay, but it is about pay. And teachers deserve to be compensated fairly. Teachers deserve to have opportunities to do their work without excessive training that’s nonacademic in its nature. They should have the opportunity to teach free from disruption,” Brumley said.

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For early childhood education, the department asked for an increase of $10-million yet the funds will remain the same at $31-million in statutory funds. There is a waitlist of over 3,000 kids for early childhood education programs.

This budget will continue to be debated throughout this regular session that can last until June 3.

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