On May 16th, Louisiana voters went to the polls and made it clear for the second time in the past two years that we are not buying Jeff Landry’s scheme to sacrifice state education trust funds for false promises of teacher pay raises. Now, legislators are preparing to cut teacher pay by not renewing the stipends they have been provided by the state for the last three years.

As state tax and budget policy experts at Invest in Louisiana have said, legislators can prevent this pay cut by using the Revenue Stabilization Fund to provide the appropriations necessary to avoid cutting school teacher and staff salaries by over $2000 and $1500 respectively.

We rejected Amendment 3 because it operated on false promises–our government can and should raise teacher and staff pay, but they should do it without accounting gimmicks. In the meantime, our state legislators should not cut pay for our hardworking educators because voters didn’t support their hairbrained scheme.

Time is short: the legislative session ends on June 1st. Below is the link to the Action Network form prepared by our friends at Invest in Louisiana, as well as the text of that Action alert. Please share widely so we can stop this unjust pay cut for school teachers and staff in Louisiana!

The Louisiana Legislature is forcing teachers to take a $2,000 pay cut because voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment (Amendment 3) on May 16. The measure aimed to eliminate three constitutionally protected education trust funds to finance a modest pay raise for teachers. This was the second year in a row that voters rejected this type of accounting gimmick.

Teachers have gone four straight years without receiving a permanent pay raise. And unless state lawmakers act before June 1, teachers will have their pay cut.

But Legislators can avoid a teacher pay cut by using money from a state savings account – the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund. Last week the Senate Finance Committee tapped the account for $800 million, proposing to spend the money on construction projects around the state, giveaways to corporations, and earmarks for projects in legislators’ districts. But nothing for teachers.

Renewing the stipends would only be a stopgap solution until a permanent raise can be negotiated next year. If the state can prioritize corporate giveaways and district earmarks, it can afford to make sure teachers and support workers aren’t forced to take a pay cut in a troubled economy where prices continue to rise.

Time is short: the legislative session ends on June 1st. Contact your state legislators NOW to demand the addition of teacher and staff stipends in the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Appropriations:

Link: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/there-is-still-time-to-pay-our-teachers?source=direct_link&

I’m very concerned that the Louisiana Legislature is forcing teachers to take a $2,000 pay cut because voters rejected Amendment 3. Louisianans did not reject Amendment 3 because we oppose giving teachers a raise. That is why I am writing to you today.

Legislators can use money from a state savings account – the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund – to renew $2,000 stipends teachers have received the last three years.

It’s troubling that lawmakers are willing to tap the fund for projects in their own districts, but not to prevent teachers from getting a pay cut.

Louisiana’s public school teachers went above and beyond to help their students recover from the pandemic. Their hard work is the reason Louisiana led the nation in academic improvement, and is the only state where average student performance in math and reading is above pre-pandemic levels.

Teachers have gone four straight years without receiving a permanent pay raise. And unless state lawmakers act, teachers will have their pay cut in a troubled economy where prices continue to rise.

Louisiana should be rewarding teachers’ achievements, not cutting their pay.