School Board waits for guidance on teacher, staff stipends

The St. Mary Parish School Board will wait for state guidance on where to find money for the teacher and staff stipends mandated by Gov. Jeff Landry.
The board heard Thursday that Landry’s executive order doesn’t only withhold state funding in amounts sufficient to cover a $2,000 stipend for teachers and $1,000 for other staff members. It requires the money to come from a budget category that is already under financial pressure.
Also at the regular first-Thursday meeting, the School Board heard comments about a new cost-cutting policy from Superintendent Dr. Rachael Sanders: no individual appliances, including mini-refrigerators and microwaves, for teachers and other staff members.
The board also seems inclined to go along with applications by Cameron International and Deepwater Supply Inc. for foreign trade zone status.
And the board praised a long line of award-winners, including a summer graduate, the winners in Red Ribbon Week contests and the Louisiana Principal of the Year.
Stipend
The Landry administration had counted on constitutional amendments revising retirement system funding to provide money for the proposed stipends. But voters rejected the amendments May 16.
On June 2, Landry issued his order, later affirmed by the Legislature, that directs $168 million in state Minimum Foundation Program funding to the stipends.
The task of determining who gets what from where is now up to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state Department of Education.
The superintendent had placed discussion of the governor’s order on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting. But at the Thursday meeting, Sanders suggested waiting for more guidance from the state about where the money will come from.
The board voted to table discussion of the governor’s order.
The effort to identify funds is complicated by rules requiring the district to spend 70% of MFP funds on instruction and 30% on operational expenses.
The governor’s order says the money for the stipends can’t come from funds dedicated to instruction.
It also charges BESE and the Education Department with helping local districts “so that areas of security, transportation, and food services remain intact,” which means the money would have to come from the remaining portion of operational funding or existing fund balances.
Board member Marilyn LaSalle of Patterson said the MFP process has become a “political tool.”
“We’ve gone from having millions we could count on every year to what we have now, where we have to decide what we’re going to spend it on, how we’re going to spend it and finding the money,” LaSalle said.
In 2025-26, the School Board anticipated $49.6 million in MFP funding, or about 45% of its revenue from all sources.
Foreign trade zones
The application by Cameron and Deepwater Supply would ease the burden imposed by tariffs and duties. It would allow the importation and handling of raw materials for manufacturing without customs duties provided the manufactured goods don’t enter domestic commerce.
The only potential financial impact on local governments would be a break on inventory taxes, and the companies aren’t seeking that exemption, Parish Economic Director Evan Boudreaux told the board.
The companies are asking for a letter stating the board has no objections to the trade zone designation. Board President Alaina Black of Morgan City asked for a letter reaffirming that the applications will have no financial impact on the school system.
Appliances
Board member Lindsey Anslem of Bayou Vista wanted to talk about a new policy established by the superintendent: no individual appliances for staff members.
Sanders called the change a cost-cutting move.
“I looked at a gigantic electricity bill,” Sanders said, “and said, ‘We’re going to do it the old-fashioned way and cut back on electricity.’”
She offered to talk to principals about the rule against appliances.
“The idea is to cut costs,” Sanders said. “It’s not to clear everything out and make everyone miserable.”
Anslem praised Sanders for looking for ways to cut costs. But she also said the appliance issue is a morale issue.
She also said she’s been unable to find out how much would be saved.
“Before we ask everyone to give something up, we should know what we’re looking at in savings,” Anslem said.
She said her own estimate is that mini-refrigerators could $1-$5 a month to operate. That would cost $2,580 a month for 516 teachers, or $30,960 a year. And that would be the greatest possible savings.
Scott Babin, a candidate for School Board from Berwick, also pointed to the impact on morale in a time when St. Mary is competing with other parishes for teachers.
“If they’re on the fence about retiring early, you’re going to lose those teachers, and not from something you thought about,” Babin said.
Patterson Junior High Principal Lauren Rentrop spoke in support of Sanders.
Awards
Rentrop was also recognized for being named the Louisiana Department of Education’s Principal of the Year.
Jayvion Thompson of Morgan City High was praised as the district’s 2026 summer graduate.
Other students were honored as winners in the annual Red Ribbon Week competitions. They are:
•Rayne Boutte, Hattie Watts Elementary, Slogan Winner.
•Silas Hastings, Morgan City High graduate, Art Grand Champion.
•Liam Aucoin, Hattie Watts Elementary.
•Jeyli Oceguera, Bayou Vista Elementary.
•Auna Notto, Raintree Elementary.
•Jillian Boudreaux, Berwick Elementary.
•Katherine Oceguera, Bayou Vista Elementary.
•Nyla Baloney, Hattie Watts Elementary.
•Aubrey Notto, Raintree Elementary.
•Nariya Francis, Patterson Junior High School.
•Alexis Perdoma, Morgan City Junior High School.
•Adaline Marcotte, Patterson Junior High School.
•Whitley Berry, Morgan City High School.
•Sherlly Bardales, Morgan City High School.