Overview
- Amendment 3 would dissolve three education trust funds to pay down teacher pension debt and convert the $2,000 stipend plus a $250 boost into a $2,250 permanent raise for teachers.
- Senate President Cameron Henry said lawmakers will not appropriate the roughly $200 million needed to keep the stipends if voters reject the measure.
- State economists lowered revenue forecasts by $113 million this year and $104 million next year, reducing the space for teacher pay and other priorities.
- Budget writers say the downgrade means trimming $113 million from a current-year bill and $104 million from next year’s budget, which could derail a $43.5 million LA GATOR voucher expansion.
- Louisiana’s two largest teacher unions support the amendment, while some educators object because the trust funds have provided about $1.8 billion over four decades for preschool, career training, bonuses, and curriculum.