BESE

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

It's more important than ever for Teachers and School Employees to stay up to date with our BESE: Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Here you will find regular updates about what's going on in BESE so you can stay up to date about everything that impacts you, your school and your students.

BESE Finalizes MFP Proposal: Raises vs. Stipends

Today, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education finalized their MFP Proposal – the funding formula for Louisiana Public Schools. LFT president Larry Carter testified before the board, highlighting the concerns of thousands of educators across the state who often consider leaving their job because of low pay and substandard working conditions. He asked the Board to improve upon what was recommended by the MFP Task Force and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) and boost funding for teacher and school employee raises. He asked the board to pass a raise of at least $4,000 for teachers and $2,000 for school support staff. With little discussion and no debate, the Board passed the MFP proposal recommended by LDOE. This MFP proposal would give teachers a $2,000 raise as well as certain teachers a $1,000 stipend (the stipend would apply to teachers who are in a critical shortage area, rated highly effective, working in high needs schools and/or those working as part of the teacher leadership team). Despite some media reports, this is not a $3,000 pay hike. A stipend isn’t guaranteed from one year to the next and it could be taken away for any number of reasons. MORE

November 2022: Flawed Accountability Proposal Fails to Pass!

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On Thursday, November 10th the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education held a special meeting to finally vote on the long-debated changes to the high school accountability model. The proposed changes were adamantly opposed by superintendents, principals, teachers, school board members and other educational stakeholders, but supported by non-education special interest groups like the Pelican Institute, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), and the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools. MORE

BESE Considers Changes to Your Salary and Workload

On Tuesday, October 11th and 12th, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) held their regularly scheduled October meetings. There was increased interest and scrutiny because of a few controversial issues on the agenda: funding and accountability.

FUNDING & RAISES

Tuesday’s committee meetings began with a public hearing to receive public recommendations regarding the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), which is the funding formula for Louisiana public schools. As expected, advocates from the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, the Louisiana School Boards Association, and

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On Tuesday, October 11th, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will hear public recommendations regarding the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) for next year (2023-2024). As we do each year, LFT will advocate for the largest raise possible for teachers and school employees.

Despite pay increases in recent years, Louisiana teachers and school employees remain below the Southern Regional Average and National Average for pay. In fact, recent state-wide pay raises have been canceled out by increases to insurance premiums from the Office of Group Benefits (OGB). This has

Special BESE Meeting: Consideration of Waivers

On Thursday, May 5th, across the street from the Capitol, BESE held a Special Board Meeting. The main discussion focused on whether or not high school seniors should be exempt from certain LEAP 2025 graduation requirements. The proposed exception would have been temporary and due to COVID, but as Superintendent Dr. Brumley pointed out, this has been a problem that predates COVID. “This is hard every year, I have been a school principal and I have had these parents, these kids in my office that have gotten so close, but they just didn’t make it. Often times, they’re waiting on the result the day of graduation potentially, and the worst case is when that result doesn’t come back the way you want it.” MORE

BESE Update: March 2022

PAY RAISES The MFP proposal reflects what the Governor proposed in his executive budget and was recommended by the LDOE for approval: $1,500 for teachers and $750 for support staff. Also included within the MFP proposal is a letter from BESE to the Legislature. In the letter, BESE urges that any additional funds recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference in May be allocated for additional salary increases. In the event that the REC recognizes additional funding, BESE requests that the Legislature return the MFP formula to BESE so that they may revise and resubmit the formula to increase the pay raise to a minimum of $2,000 for certificated staff and $1,000 for non-certificated support staff. MORE

Tell BESE: Teachers & Support Staff Need a More Significant Pay Increase

In their March meeting, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will determine their Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) proposal to present to the legislature. The MFP makes up the state’s investment in K-12 education including teacher and school employee pay. If teachers and school employees are to receive a statewide pay raise this year, BESE must propose the raise next week.

In their Committee Meetings on Tuesday (3/8) and their Board meeting on Wednesday (3/9), BESE will consider the recommendation from the MFP Task Force, to increase pay by $1,500 for teachers and $750 for

BESE Update: October 2021

This month BESE conducted their regularly scheduled Committee meetings and full Board Meeting on October 12^th and 13^th. During their lengthy discussions, the Board considered waiver requested from different school districts, including a state-wide waiver for school letter grades. LFT Legislative & Political Director addressed the board three times during the meeting to point out their failure to prioritize the needs of teachers and school employees.

“I would be remiss if I did not point out that none of the waivers considered today would help to staunch the bleed of

On Thursday, April 29th, the Senate Education Committee voted to reject the MFP proposal that had been sent to the legislature by the Board of Elementary and ask that they increase the teacher/school employee pay raise. The legislature has done the hard work and come up with the money to fund the salary increase, now BESE needs to do their part. The recommendation they submitted to BESE, calls for a $1,000 increase for teachers/certified personnel and $500 for uncertified personnel.