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School board approves one-time differentiated pay distribution for classroom teachers
Summary
The Ouachita Parish School Board approved a resolution to distribute state-authorized one-time differentiated pay to classroom teachers using four state-permitted criteria; the vote was unanimous and staff said final stipend amounts will depend on teacher counts and available funds.
The Ouachita Parish School Board voted unanimously to approve a resolution authorizing a one-time differentiated pay distribution to classroom teachers for fiscal year 2526.
Finance and HR staff presented a formula built on four state-authorized criteria: teachers judged highly effective, classroom teachers in state-designated critical shortage areas (secondary math, secondary science and special education as cited), classroom teachers in schools meeting a strict 85% economically disadvantaged threshold, and teachers holding defined teacher-leadership roles (mentor teachers, PLC leaders, ILT members, department chairs, literacy/504 coordinators and similar positions). The board approved the recommendation after committee review and input from principals.
Miss Mikas, who presented the resolution, said the state provided limited guidance on the definition of teacher-leader roles and that the district developed objective, documentable criteria to ensure consistent eligibility across schools. She said the payment amount will be calculated by dividing the state allocation by the number of qualifying teachers once district documentation is complete; the state allocation equates to roughly $24 per teacher on initial estimates but the final stipend is expected to be higher after calculations.
Mr. Jason Thompson, who reported the finance committee discussions earlier, said a principal and instructional-team review informed the recommended approach and that the committee sought to expand eligible teachers compared with prior merit distributions. The board approved the resolution by voice vote with no opposition.
Next steps: staff will collect qualifying lists from principals, calculate the per-teacher amount and issue payments in accordance with payroll timing; the district also noted an existing $100 ‘‘highly effective’’ stipend paid from the prior year’s evaluation list will be processed as described in the packet.
Actions recorded: the board took a formal vote to approve the differentiated-pay resolution as presented; the action authorizes implementation according to the described criteria and requires staff to determine final amounts and recipients.
