Louisiana House GOP leaders face a bind in wanting teacher pay raise but not proposed K-12 funding

Louisiana House Republican leaders don’t want to give as much money to K-12 schools next year as Gov. John Bel Edwards, but they could have a difficult time rejecting his proposal.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is not planning to revisit its original K-12 school funding recommendation at its meeting next week, said board president Gary Jones in an interview Friday (April 12).

That means House GOP leaders will have a harder time decoupling the teacher and school staff pay raises that have been proposed -- and which the House Republican leaders support -- from the general K-12 funding increase that’s recommended, which House GOP leaders aren’t backing.

The state school board approved a minimum foundation program request -- the official name of the state’s primary school funding formula -- that includes a $1,000 raise for teachers, $500 raise for support staff and a $39 million increase in general cash for K-12 schools.

Read more: https://www.nola.com/politics/2019/04/la-house-gop-leaders-face-a-bind-in-wanting-teacher-pay-raise-but-not-proposed-k-12-budget.html