LAFAYETTE, La. — Lafayette Parish parents and teachers worried about job cuts can exhale, at least for now. Lafayette Parish School System Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr. said Wednesday that no teachers in the district will lose their jobs over Gov. Jeff Landry’s push to redirect $168 million in public school funding toward teacher stipends.
Touchet made the statement during an appearance on Acadiana’s Morning News on Wednesday, the morning after Landry issued an executive order pulling the money from what the governor characterized as non-instructional school spending. According to The Advocate, the order would reduce school districts’ state aid by an average of 4 to 5 percent statewide.
“In Lafayette Parish, that will not be the case,” Touchet said on air. “We are not going to cut teachers because of a $9 million reduction in MFP.”
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What the Landry Order Means for Lafayette Parish Schools
Landry’s executive order directs the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to identify cuts within the school funding formula (known as the Minimum Foundation Program) to free up money for the stipend payments. The governor said the reductions should come from “non-instructional” expenses, and told school board leaders Tuesday that “essential student services” such as security, food service, and transportation would not be affected…