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Livingston Parish board approves one-time spring stipend for all employees
Summary
The Livingston Parish School Board approved a one-time local spring stipend equal to $750 for classified employees and $1,500 for certified employees, to be funded from undesignated reserves and a restricted sales-tax reserve. Staff presented eight scenarios and the board adopted the option estimated to cost $5.9 million by voice vote.
The Livingston Parish School Board approved a one-time local spring stipend for all employees during its meeting. The board voted to provide $750 for classified employees and $1,500 for certified employees, an option staff said would cost about $5,900,000.
Amy, a staff member, presented eight stipend scenarios and the district's recent financial position. "For this current year, we're projecting a current year deficit of $4,600,000; however, we have an undesignated surplus of $37,000,000 that can be used to help cover this cost," she said. She recommended the option that mirrors the method used in recent state stipends: the $750 classified and $1,500 certified amounts, which she said would "reduce our undesignated surplus by approximately $3,700,000.0" and that the remainder would be paid from "a restricted reserve of sales tax funds that are . . . rolled over from the 24-25 fiscal year."
On the funding source, Amy explained, "The restricted reserve is what we set aside for the salaries. So 1, our first sales tax is dedicated for salaries and benefits. So we take what we collect each year from that sales tax, and it can only be used for salaries and benefits...anything that is remaining, we put as a reserve for the next year because it has to be used to pay for salaries and benefits." She also noted a local policy to keep 10% of operating surplus as an undesignated reserve.
After brief discussion and an expressed preference for the recommended option by a board member, a motion to adopt the $750/$1,500 stipend package was made by a board member identified in the transcript as "Mister Link" and seconded by Mister Seals. The board approved the motion by voice vote; the chair declared the motion passed. The transcript records the approval as a voice vote and does not record a roll-call tally.
Following the stipend vote the board moved to adjourn; that motion was made and seconded and carried by voice vote.
The stipend will be paid from local funds, using a mix of undesignated surplus and a restricted sales-tax reserve folded forward from fiscal year 24-25. The transcript does not specify payment timing, the number of employees who will receive the stipend, or whether any further administrative steps or reporting requirements were assigned.
