KEY TAKEAWAYS: Amendment 3 on the May 16 ballot would fund permanent raises for teachers and support staff in Louisiana. The plan would dissolve three education trust funds totaling about $2 billion to pay down retirement debt. Supporters say the move would stabilize teacher pay and reduce rel iance on one-time stipends. Opponents argue it risks long-term education funding by eliminating dedicated trust fund earnings.   Louisiana voters can give public school teachers and support staff a permanent pay raise in the state’s May 16 election with Amendment No. 3, but there is a catch. Funding the $2,250 annual raises for teachers and $1,125 annual raises for workers would require the state to dissolve three constitutionally protected education trust funds that have a combined $2 billion in their coffers. The annual interest generated from those funds, about $68 million in 2023-24, supports education programs in the state. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has committed to maintain funding for those programs through other means, but the amendment doesn’t mandate keeping those programs whole. The amendment proposes dissolving the trust funds and using their combined $2 billion principal to pay down the the teachers retirement system debt and require the school systems to use the savings from those debt payments to fund the permanent raises. Landry and teacher unions support the amendment for the certainty of permanent raises rather than one-time stipends that have been the more recent practice from the Legislature. Republican President Senate President Cameron Henry made it clear this week that budget restraints will prevent the Legislature from funding stipends this year, so teachers could go empty-handed if the amendment is defeated. But others, like Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, a Democrat from Elm Grove who passed the bill for one of the funds when he was a member of the Senate in 1999, believe the proposed amendment is short-sighted. “Schools across Louisiana today benefit from the Educational Excellence Fund,” Campbell said. “We must preserve it against careless raids driven by short-term thinking.” Polls are open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday. Following is an explanation and analysis of Amendment No. 3 from the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, which provides a voter’s guide without taking a position. For PAR’s full analysis, go to PAR Guide to the 2026 Constitutional Amendments. ∎ Amendment No. 3 ballot language: Do you support an amendment to fund a $2,250 teacher pay raise and $1,125 support staff pay raise by utilizing the remaining savings from paying down the debt of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana with monies from certain constitutional funds? ∎ A vote for would: Dissolve three education trust funds and use the money to pay down retirement debt and give public school teachers and support workers a permanent raise. ∎ A vote against would: Maintain the education trust funds and continue to distribute their investment earnings for early childhood education, K-12 schools and college programs. ∎ Argument for: Dissolving the trust funds and paying down a hefty state debt is a better use of the money. The maneuver will save Louisiana an estimated $1 billion over time, money that could fund othercritical priorities, including education needs. The maneuver will make the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana more financially stable, and the state will save more on retirement debt interest payments for years than it was receiving in annual interest and investment earnings from the trust fund money. Requiring public school systems to use their savings for a permanent teacher and support worker raise ends the annual financial uncertainty educators have faced with one-time stipends uncertain to reappear each year. ∎ Argument against: The education trust funds were created to ensure that public school systems and colleges have a protected stream of money to finance priority programs and important initiatives for the long-term. Just because this governor and lawmakers have agreed to continue to pay for those programs without the trust fund revenue doesn’t mean future officials will agree to the same terms. If the governor and Legislature want to prioritize a permanent teacher pay raise, they should find the state money to cover those costs without raiding trust funds and ending an annual stream of investment and interest earnings that is available in perpetuity. The state already has a plan in place to pay down the retirement debt. Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana voters can give teachers a pay raise, but there’s a catch Reporting by Greg Hilburn, Shreveport Times / Shreveport Times USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less