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Acadia Parish committee approves distribution plan after state cut to differentiated teacher pay
Summary
Committee members voted to approve a plan to distribute Louisiana'state differentiated compensation funds to teachers after the district received $201,150 this year, down roughly $90,000 from last year; the district will use general-fund dollars to cover the shortfall so all eligible teachers receive a reduced stipend.
The Acadia Parish School Board Budget and Finance Committee voted to approve a fiscal-year 2025 salary-book adjustment to distribute state-differentiated compensation funds to district teachers, the committee heard at its meeting.
The committee was told the district received $201,150 in differentiated compensation funds this year from the State Department of Education, a reduction of about $90,000 from the prior year. A staff presenter said the state allows the funds to be used in three categories: stipends for teachers in critical-shortage areas (defined in the report as special education, science and math), stipends for highly affected teachers, and stipends for teachers working in high-need schools (those with an economically disadvantaged student rate of 85% or higher).
The presenter said the allocation applies across several categories covering 406 employees and that the district has a total of 596 teachers. Because the state award fell, the per-teacher stipend would fall from $545 to $402 under the recommended distribution. The presenter said the general fund would need to cover the remaining cost for roughly 190 teachers and that covering the shortfall would require about $94,000 from the general fund; the stipend, the presenter said, would be distributed at the end of April 2025.
Committee member Hebert moved to approve the salary-book adjustment; the motion was seconded by committee member Glenn Quibido and carried. During the discussion, the presenter said, "I think it's a great time to give teachers that little bit of a stipend right around testing time." No additional amendments or conditions were recorded.
The committee also heard that Mr. Carrier was not present but had reported before the meeting that the district remains on track with its budget for the year.
The committee approved implementation details as presented and directed staff to proceed with the stipend distribution under the recommended allocation.
The action will change the immediate distribution of differentiated-compensation stipends for district teachers; no further timetable for recurring funding was stated.
