St. Tammany School Board approves MOU with teachers' federation, makes permanent pay raises for certificated and support staff

The St. Tammany Parish School Board voted 10-0 May 28 to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees that, as presented by the administration, converts several temporary stipends into permanent pay increases for district employees and adds new supplemental-pay provisions.

Superintendent Frank Jabia told the board the agreement would give a permanent pay raise of $2,550 for certificated personnel and $1,750 for support personnel, and that the parties negotiated changes meant to reduce reliance on short-term stipends. "We want to ... move over to a permanent pay raise for our employees," Jabia said in presenting the MOU.

Why it matters: the agreement changes the district salary structure and is intended to improve recruitment and retention as the district competes with nearby parishes for licensed clinicians and other hard-to-fill roles. The board and negotiators said the MOU was possible, in part, because the district freed capital funding after voters approved a bond package earlier this year.

Key terms and program changes - Permanent raises: The administration and the federation agreed to a permanent increase of $2,550 for certificated employees and $1,750 for support staff. The presentation described those raises as roughly equivalent to five salary "steps." - Stipends removed or reworked: The district will eliminate several targeted stipends used previously for critical-subject recruitment and for targeted schools; negotiators said employees already enrolled in multi‑year certification pathways before an April 30 cut‑off will be "grandfathered" to complete those pathways. - Effectiveness/VAM payments: The MOU preserves small, outcome-linked payments. Under the negotiated language, teachers with a VAM (value‑added model) score of 3.5 or higher would receive a $500 stipend; those with scores in the 3.0–3.4999 range would receive $250. Teachers without a VAM score who earn an overall evaluation of 3.5 or higher would receive $250. - Licensed clinicians and Medicaid billing: The MOU recommends reclassification and pay adjustments for employees who hold professional licenses (examples discussed included speech, occupational and physical therapists). The district already bills Medicaid for speech, occupational and physical therapy services and expects to increase Medicaid‑reimbursable positions. - Coaching and extracurricular incentives: For LHSAA sports, the MOU adds modest playoff/championship stipends: a $500 stipend to a head coach for qualifying for playoffs (assistant coaches $250), additional amounts for runner‑up finishes, and $1,000 for a state championship (assistants $500). Negotiators said the amounts are intended to be a limited incentive, not a major new recurring cost. - New supplemental-pay definitions: The agreement sets hourly rates for a range of supplemental duties (examples given by the administration: $30/hour for science lab facilitators and for curriculum/assessment work) and establishes a Chromebook‑management stipend for certified staff who take on that duty.

Debate, questions and logistics Board discussion focused heavily on item 5 of the MOU, which addresses compensation for certificated employees who must forfeit duty‑free lunch or who work over a 90‑minute threshold of assigned student supervision duties. Several board members and principals warned that tracking short increments of duty time (minutes per day) would create administrative burdens and could vary widely by school, particularly between elementary and secondary campuses.

Board member Miss Baker summarized the concern as a potential logistical ‘‘nightmare’’ for principals and payroll staff if every certified employee over 90 minutes must submit time sheets. Multiple principals and administrators told the board they supported the pay increases for employees but cautioned that elementary campus supervision differs substantially from high school supervision.

Federation representatives pushed back on delaying or removing the duty provision. Stephanie Underwood, executive vice president of the federation, urged the board to approve the full package as negotiated: "I'm asking you to please pass this today," she said at public comment.

Outcome and follow-up Board members voted to approve the MOU, with the board record showing 10 yeas and one member not present for the vote; the motion to accept the MOU was made by board member Hurstis and seconded by Miss Hanson. As part of the board discussion the board directed the superintendent and the federation to revisit item 5 (the duty/minutes provision) and report back around Sept. 30, 2025 to assess operational impacts and possible adjustments.

Public comment and community reaction Several teachers, school principals and parents spoke in support of the agreement. Teacher and parent Nicole Sedlowski told the board elementary teachers "deserve every bit of a raise that they're gonna get in this MOU." Marinya Elementary principal Leslie Martin urged prompt approval of the MOU while noting the work required of administrators to implement duty reporting. High school teacher Mercedes Schneider urged the board to approve the package and said the district should "trust but verify" implementation.

Budget and fiscal notes disclosed in the meeting District staff presented high‑level budget estimates tied to the agreement: negotiators and the superintendent said eliminating prior stipends reduced recurring stipend costs and that the net additional cost of the negotiated package was projected at roughly $6,000,000 (above a normal annual step cost the administration cited at about $3.3 million). The administration said some savings are expected from a lower employer retirement rate and from other line‑item adjustments; staff also noted an existing fund balance and capital resources that provide short‑term flexibility. The board asked the administration to closely monitor costs and pledged to revisit the MOU if implementation led to unanticipated fiscal pressure.

What's next The MOU takes effect following board approval and will be incorporated into the district's salary schedule. The board directed superintendent Frank Jabia and federation negotiators to return with data and recommendations on the duty‑time provisions by Sept. 30, 2025. The board and administration said they will review implementation through labor‑management channels and may propose technical adjustments in a future supplemental pay schedule.

Ending Board President Green closed the special meeting after the vote. Administration and federation leaders thanked the board and community for the negotiations and public comment that led to the agreement.