BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana school districts may have to rework their budgets after the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shifted millions in funds to teacher stipends or pay raises.
During a special meeting Thursday, BESE approved guidance for Gov. Jeff Landry’s executive order. The order requires teacher raises or stipends but changes how those funds reach local districts.
To fund the initiative, the state is reducing its monthly payments to school districts by an average of 5%. The executive order reroutes $168 million from the state’s Minimum Foundation Program—which typically covers general school operations—and converts it into one-time stipend payments for educators…