When he interviewed to be East Baton Rouge Parish schools superintendent, LaMont Cole pledged to find money to increase employee pay. Seventeen months later, he says he is almost there.
Cole said he hopes to propose across-the-board pay raises in the next few months. He also plans to roll out a simpler, but more generous set of employee salary schedules.
For some employees, the two changes, if approved, would mean not one but two pay boosts. They would take effect with the start of the 2026-27 fiscal year in July.
Simplifying, increasing
In June, the school system agreed to pay Huntsville, Alabama-based consulting firm LEAN Frog Consulting $59,500 to rework the current complex set of schedules — they stretch for 83 pages — into something that’s “competitive, equitable and reflects current best practices with particular emphasis on improving employee retention, especially for certified staff.”…