BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry addressed teachers after voters rejected a key amendment to the state’s education law.

Amendment 2, which was supported by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, aimed to permanently increase the salaries of teachers and school staff while also eliminating retirement debt. For the past two years, teachers and support staff received temporary stipends of $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. The proposed amendment would have made these stipends a permanent part of their salaries, but voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure during the election on March 29.

With the additional funding now at risk, Landry said in an open letter he is working to clarify the situation.

“Regrettably, due to the setback with Amendment 2, we are back to square one, as there are no existing recurring resources available to fund the permanent salary increase that you deserve,” said Landry.

He noted that Amendment 2 aimed to shift the focus of sound fiscal practices toward benefiting teachers instead of making wasteful interest payments to Wall Street banks.

Landry also stated that our current Constitution often uses education and healthcare as political tools during times of fiscal instability. He emphasized that Amendment 2 aimed to end this political manipulation.

Last month, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell described Amendment 2 as “irresponsible” and warned that it would “destroy” the savings account that has funded schools for over 30 years. Campbell emphasized that while teachers need better pay today, it is “foolish” to raise funds by dismantling a savings account that provides ongoing benefits each year for children in both public and private schools.

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