Governor John Bel Edwards is proposing a $400 annual pay raise for teachers in Louisiana and $200 for support staff. Teachers groups across the state are not happy about this paltry amount which is $33 a month for teachers and $16.50 for support workers.

Jackie Lansdale, President of the Red River United Teachers Union tells KEEL News this is not enough and it shows that teachers are not a priority in Louisiana. "We went 8 years in the prior administration without a pay raise, but when you look at this, it is awful and the optics of this are not good." She says we are not even close to the southern regional average for teacher pay.

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Lansdale has a message for the Governor: "You better look again. Because that $400 is not enough sir. If we have empty classrooms, sir you need to go back. How you spend your time and how you spend your money tells us what's valuable to you. Are we valuable to you? We are not real sure about that today.

Lansdale says teachers and staff made tremendous sacrifices for the state during the pandemic and this proposal is just a slap in the face.

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