No 'battle' expected for Louisiana teacher pay hikes, but one is brewing over public school aid

Gov. John Bel Edwards' bid to boost teacher pay by $1,000 per year is winning wide support both inside and outside the Louisiana Legislature.

"There is just a broad consensus in the Legislature that we want to give the teachers a pay raise," House Education Committee Chairwoman Rep. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, said in an interview.

Landry, like other Republicans, rarely agrees with the Democratic governor on key public school issues. But the pay boost is backed by Republicans and Democrats alike as well as the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and a wide range of advocacy groups.

Leaders of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, Council for a Better Louisiana, Stand for Children, Louisiana Federation of Teachers, Louisiana Association of Educators and Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana all think pay hikes of at least $1,000 are in the cards.

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