Acadia Parish School Board approves FY2026–27 salary book; will revisit bus driver field‑trip pay

The Acadia Parish School Board finance committee voted to accept the district's FY2026–27 salary book on June 16, while agreeing to return later with more information about bus-driver field‑trip pay.

Board members and staff discussed several changes included in the salary book, including removal (for now) of an October state supplement cited in the packet at $21,000 and insertion of previously separate items into the salary book, such as field‑trip compensation for school bus drivers and a clarifying health‑insurance caveat. "They're currently making $60 a field trip and $15 for additional stops. We increased it to eighty dollars per field trip and 24 for an additional stop," the presenter told the board.

The discussion focused on an apparent pay gap between parish-employed drivers and contracted drivers. Board members said contracted drivers (referred to in the meeting by contract name as "DS/Diaz") are paid under contract at about $41 per hour for trips, which can make a contracted trip cost roughly $350; parish drivers, historically paid a flat rate, would receive much less for the same trip under the current salary-book proposal. One member summarized the problem: parish drivers "won't volunteer for field trips" when contractors are paid substantially more.

Members debated alternatives — keeping a flat-per-trip rate, switching to an hourly supplement (members discussed figures such as $20–$25 per hour), or setting a higher flat rate (suggestions ranged from $125 to $150). Several board members recommended surveying principals about available club funds and travel needs before changing the salary book.

The board approved the salary book in a voice vote while instructing staff to gather more information and return with a recommendation about field‑trip pay at a future meeting or to address the issue in the next contract negotiation cycle. The presenter also noted the district will not have final fiscal-year numbers until early August, when counts and outstanding invoices are closed out, and said the substitute-pay line is being increased in the proposed budget (staff cited approximately $575,000 versus $500,000 in the prior plan).

The meeting record shows the board adopted the salary book subject to later adjustment on the field‑trip compensation item; no formal amendment to the salary book was made at the June 16 meeting.