WEEK 6: The MFP Goes Back to the House
THE MFP PASSES THE SENATE
On Wednesday, the Senate passed SCR 3, which is the MFP! This funding plan was unanimously passed by BESE in March and would secure $101 million for pay raises for teachers and support employees and $39 million for local school districts. Securing this funding in the MFP is crucial because it can not be taken away from one year to the next! The Senate vote was nearly unanimous (Senator Appel of Metairie was the only 'no' vote). Click here to send a thank you note to your senator.
NOW THE MFP GOES TO THE HOUSE
The House Education Committee has already expressed their opposition to the MFP. In April, they asked the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to remove $39 million in funding for local school districts from the proposal. Last week, the entire House voted through the budget, which included a one-time, non-reoccurring pay increase for teachers and support employees, but no funding for local school districts to offset the cost of the pay increase or meet additional local needs.
Earlier this month, BESE rejected the House Education Committee's request and refused to cut funding from the MFP. Now the House members will have to vote again.
YOU NEED TO ACT
It is vital that your representatives hear from you. You've already sent them an email, now we have to pick up the phone, go to their office, tag them in social media: MAKE SURE YOUR VOICE IS HEARD:
Call your Representative - Leave a message for your representative through the House Switchboard (225-342-6945) and ask them to support SCR 3, making teacher pay raises permanent and increasing per-pupil funding. If you don’t know who your representative is, click here to get their name.
Post on social media - copy and paste one of these posts, or write your own tweet/post in support of SCR 3 and always remember to include the hashtag: #lalage
- SCR 3 doesn't just provide for education - it invests in Louisiana's future. Through teacher pay raises and increasing per-pupil funding in public schools, we're investing in our state’s most valuable resource: our children. It's time for our legislature to support SCR 3! #lalege
- Our teachers deserve a permanent pay raise, not a one time bonus. SCR 3 invests in our children by investing in the people we trust to teach them while also increasing per-pupil funding in our public schools. Our children are our future. It's time we make them a priority. #lalege
- I support SCR 3 because I support investing in Louisiana's future. Let's provide for our children by giving our teachers the essential pay raises they deserve and increasing the per-pupil funding in our public schools. Join LFT in urging our legislature to support SCR 3! #lalege
VAM GRIEVANCES
On Tuesday, the House Education Committee will consider HB 337 by Rep. Patricia Smith. Under current law, BESE had to create a grievance process for teachers and administrators aggrieved by evaluation ratings including those portions of such ratings derived from the observation and value-added assessment model (VAM). As it stands right now, there is no clear process for all educators to grieve poor or inaccurate assessments. This bill would define a clear process so all educators can fully access the grievance procedure. LFT worked with Rep. Smith to develop this legislation.