Louisiana school superintendents and advocates are pushing back against Governor Jeff Landry’s plan to shift $168 million from K-12 school operations to fund teacher pay stipends. The proposed cut would affect classroom instruction and could lead to layoffs, particularly in rural areas with limited financial reserves.

Concerns Over Funding Reductions

School leaders argue that the reduction in funding would impact staffing, programs, and processes, and that the money is not idle dollars. They also point out that increased spending on special education students, insurance, and other required expenses have led to higher operational costs.

The governor’s plan would transfer money from K-12 schools to keep stipends worth $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for school support staff in place for the 2026-27 school year. However, school leaders say that the proposal would not go to all school employees who have received stipends in the past, and that it would intentionally exclude school administrators from the stipend extension.

Impact on Local Schools

The average school district’s reduction in state funding would amount to about 5%, with traditional school systems losing anywhere from $107,000 in Tensas Parish to $11 million in Jefferson Parish. Charter schools would also be affected, with reductions ranging from $3,200 at Louisiana Key Academy in Metairie to $627,000 at Acadiana Renaissance Charter Academy in Youngsville.

School leaders are concerned that the governor’s plan does not take into account the complexities of public school financing and that it would have a disproportionate impact on smaller school systems that are already struggling financially.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.