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Jefferson Parish teacher pay raise proposal fails

With the failure of the tax proposal, the school district will now have to look elsewhere to help fill its current shortage of about 100 teachers.
The Jefferson Parish School District is proposing a new property tax millage they say will go to staff salaries.

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — A property tax proposal to give Jefferson Parish public school teachers a raise has failed by just over 300 votes.

The 10.89-mill tax would have raised an additional $48 million per year over the next 10 years and allow JP to increase pay for certified teachers by $8,300.

In the runup to the December 7 election, JP School Superintendent James Gray called the proposal a small sacrifice now for a big payoff. 

"Sometimes you have to put in an investment today for it to pay off in the future," said Gray. "And I look at this as an investment in our future. It’s a small minor pain point now but it’s going to pay huge dividends in the long run," he said. 

With the failure of the tax proposal, the school district will now have to look elsewhere to help fill its current shortage of about 100 teachers.

The final unofficial vote count was 17,598 for the tax and 17,917 against it.

Voter turnout in Jefferson Parish was estimated to be about 12.5 percent.

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