LOUISIANA, USA — Monday at the state capitol, the House Appropriations Committee came up with a state budget proposal that excludes Governor John Bel Edwards' call for a $2,000 raise for teachers that could increase up to $3,000.
Instead, the committee chair said they moved money to pay off retirement debt for teachers, arguing the plan would free up local dollars to set their own pay increases.
"So when teachers speak to us about their raises, what we should be saying is our intent in this legislation is to decrease the costs to the local school boards and hopefully in return, they look at investing in their teachers?" Representative Dustin Miller asked for clarification.
"Exactly," Chairman Jerome Zeringue responded. "Not only just for K through 12, also higher Ed as well."
Representative Aimee Adatto Freeman spoke with us over the phone Tuesday.
"I don't necessarily agree with that position myself. I'd prefer for us to give the raises from a state level because we don't have assurances the local governments will give those raises," Freeman said.
Cynthia Posey is the Louisiana Federation of Teachers Legislative Director
"To say the local districts need to pay for this raise is really not fair because they are cash strapped," Posey said.
The governor also asked for $52 million in funds to help families access childcare programs, but that was not part of the committee's funding plan either.
"I'm very disappointed to see this is how we're starting off with cutting those funds," said Young Scholars Academy owner, Megan Garretson. "I wanted to bring it to your attention; myself and other providers have a wait list until 2024. Without this funding, families cannot access quality childcare."
"Believe me, early childhood is an important aspect of which we fund it, but just to be clear, even of the $51 million that were cutting, $36.2 million remains in the budget for CCAP and there's $150 million total in that fund, so there is still dollars that we're working toward," Zeringue said.
Freeman expects the budget to change through the legislative process.
"I personally think we need to continue to fund early education at the biggest level we can possible," Freeman said.
The budget plan will almost certainly see dramatic alterations before it's finalized. It's expected to be heard by the Full House Thursday.
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