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Appropriations committee funds $2,000 teacher and $1,000 support-staff stipends in revised general budget
Summary
Committee amendments to House Bill 1 fund $2,000 stipends for certified teachers and $1,000 for support staff, offset by cuts to acquisitions and other adjustments; members emphasized the budget is a standstill baseline and that the package reduces recurring state general fund use compared to the current year.
The House Committee on Appropriations adopted an amendment package to the general appropriations bill, House Bill 1, that funds teacher and support-staff stipends for fiscal 2026 while trimming other items to keep the budget balanced.
The amendment set (2584) provides a $2,000 stipend for certified teachers and a $1,000 stipend for support personnel, including charter-school teachers, and funds differential pay at $17.5 million as retained in the budget. Committee staff said funding the teacher stipend costs nearly $200 million.
To offset the stipends, members and staff detailed multiple adjustments: a $91.3 million reduction in acquisitions (canceling new equipment and purchases while preserving financed acquisitions), a $26.3 million reduction in the Louisiana Department of Health budget described as using available excesses and supplemental adjustments, removal of $30 million for high-dose tutoring, and a $20 million reduction in personnel services tied to anticipated savings from unfilled positions and an executive order affecting hiring and remote work. Committee materials say the amendment package uses $344.8 million less state general fund than the fiscal 2025 operating budget.
Vice Chairman Hughes framed the amendment package as the product of weeks of schedule-by-schedule review and public testimony, saying the budget “represents significant investments in our children,” state police, elderly residents, and teachers. Representative Marsdale thanked the chairman and staff for funding priorities including domestic violence shelters and early childhood programs. Representative Bagley asked about tourism allocations; the chairman said tourism appropriations were wrapped into a broader amendment within the set.
The committee adopted the amendments by voice vote; House Bill 1 was reported favorably as amended and assigned special order number 1 for May. Staff were authorized to make technical corrections to adopted amendments.
