KEY TAKEAWAYS: School districts still lack state guidance on exemptions from $2,000 teacher stipends. Districts are finalizing budgets as uncertainty clouds local pay raise decisions. State funding for stipends will initially be withheld from all districts before any exemptions are applied. Ed ucation officials expect BESE to consider exemption criteria during its Aug. 17-19 meetings.   With classes starting next month, Louisiana school districts still don’t know how many of them, if any, will be exempt from having to pay $2,000 teacher stipends out of their existing state funds. Gov. Jeff Landry reiterated at a news conference last week that not all school districts would be required to pay for the temporary stipends. For example, those using local tax funds to increase teacher pay $2,000 or more would not have to provide stipends, according to the governor. “Those parishes that give their teachers a raise of $2,000 or more, which is what the stipend would cover … they can use the money in the [state school funding formula] in the way that they see fit,” Landry in response to a question from a reporter on July 13. The governor made a similar statement in posts across social media a month ago, yet school district leaders say they still haven’t heard what qualifies for this exemption. “[School superintendents] are very stressed about it because they don’t have any guidance yet,” said David Claxton, executive director of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents and Administrators. The Louisiana Department of Education is still finalizing its criteria for stipend exemptions and will release that information as soon as possible, agency spokesman Ted Beasley said Friday in an email. Dannie Garrett, general counsel for the Louisiana School Boards Association, said he expects the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will take up the exemption criteria at their next meetings, scheduled for Aug. 17-19. In June, Landry and the Louisiana Legislature mandated school districts use a portion of their general operations funding from the state for another round of temporary pay stipends. They are worth $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for school support staff for the 2026-27 school year. The state has given out the same stipends for three years. But in the past, the governor and legislature provided an extra $200 million to school districts to cover their costs. This year, Landry and lawmakers did not include that $200 million for stipends in the state budget. The state is experiencing a revenue downturn after Landry and lawmakers cut personal income and business taxes at the beginning of 2025. Instead, the elected officials had hoped voters would approve a constitutional amendment freeing up other state funds to give teachers a permanent pay raise. After voters rejected that plan, Landry issued an executive order, with the blessing of the legislature, that required school districts to cover the stipends within their operational funding from the state. The result is that every public school district in the state will have their state operational funding cut unless they qualify for the local pay raise exemption Landry has announced but has yet to explain. Among the details school districts are waiting to hear is when the local pay raise would have to be given to qualify. They also don’t know whether the raises only have to go to teachers or must include other school staff who would otherwise receive stipends. It’s also not clear whether only permanent pay raises trigger the exemption or temporary bonuses given this year would also apply. For example, Richland Parish teachers are receiving bonuses of up to $50,900 this year thanks to a sales tax boom from the new Meta data center campus under construction there. The additional pay isn’t permanent, so it’s not clear if it will trigger the exemption. All school districts will see a cut in their state funding at the outset, even if they later qualify for an exemption, according to the state education department. The state calculates how much each district receives through what’s known as its Minimum Foundation Program formula. “When school systems begin getting their MFP checks later this month, it will not include the amount moved into the account for stipends,” Beasley wrote in his email. Schools that meet the criteria for an exemption could see their funding restored, but only after it has been withheld from them initially. “Our guidance will include information for school systems on how to access their portion of those funds for stipends as well as how to access those funds if they have locally provided employees with a pay increase for 2026-2027,” Beasley wrote. Still, Claxton said most school systems are putting together their budgets now and are making decisions about local teacher pay raises relatively soon. A few, including school systems in Jefferson and Ascension parishes, appear to be scrapping plans for permanent pay raises this year in order to be able to afford the temporary stipend, according to The Times-Picayune. Claxton said local school districts are “very apprehensive” to budget any local pay hikes because it’s so unclear whether they would be given a reprieve from the teacher stipends this year. Landry and legislators have also launched a statewide review of the Minimum Foundation Program. School leaders are worried they might be asked to absorb more pay hikes for years to come under a reworking of the MFP formula. Landry has pushed back on the notion that public education will suffer as a result of diverting school operations funding into teacher stipends. He has suggested the school district have enough money to absorb the reduction. “If the local school systems can’t seem to figure out how to find the money, I’m happy to send the inspector general or legislative auditor in there to take a look at their expenses and see if we can find a way to make sure that those teachers get what they deserve,” Landry said last week. ...read more read less