Federation asks board to extend CBA, pause employee handbook and guarantees on raises; local union opposes constitutional Amendment 2

Two union leaders addressed the St. Tammany Parish School Board on March 20 with formal requests and a ballot‑initiative position.

Stephanie Underwood, executive vice president of the Saint Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees, read a membership resolution asking the board to: negotiate in good faith to extend the current 2024–2026 collective bargaining agreement by two years and authorize a memorandum of understanding to finalize the extension; immediately suspend development and implementation of any employee handbook intended to replace the CBA; prioritize completion of school‑based projects in the proposed May 3, 2025 bond (starting with replacement of portable/modular classrooms) before initiating any work on a proposed discovery center; publish by March 28, 2025 a complete organizational chart for management and administration including job titles and payroll allocation details; and guarantee that teacher and school employee pay raises will not be negatively impacted by the bond outcome or financial restructuring.

Brent Osborne, Saint Tammany Federation president, said the union’s membership voted unanimously to direct the local to actively campaign against Constitutional Amendment No. 2 on the March ballot, and described the union’s concerns about how previous legislative actions converted raises into stipends. “We need real raises funded in a traditional way,” Osborne told the board.

Both union leaders asked for transparency and for the district to prioritize school‑level needs. The board did not take immediate action on the union’s requests during the meeting; Union representatives offered to brief negotiating and grievance teams before the board’s executive session.