NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) published a new report last Thursday: On the Ballot: Jefferson Parish School Tax, December 7, 2024. The report is intended to help Jefferson Parish voters make an informed decision on a proposed 10.89-mill property tax dedicated to increased pay and benefits for teachers and other employees of the Jefferson Parish Public School System.
The School System would use the tax revenue to raise pay for all certified teachers by $8,300 a year, a 16% increase to the starting salary – from $51,800 to $60,100. In addition, the revenue would fund proportionate pay increases for school and central office leadership positions, except the superintendent, and $2,000 raises for all support positions.
BGR’s report analyzes the School System’s pay raise tax proposition based on a series of questions that assess whether it supports the efficient and effective use of public resources. The findings from this analysis explain BGR’s position in favor of the proposition. Key takeaways from the report include:
- The School System has identified improving teacher recruitment and retention as a critical need for boosting student performance. The School System has targeted its proposal to bring its starting certified teacher salary to the highest among area districts, as shown in the chart below. More than 500 teachers have regularly left the School System each year since well before the pandemic, keeping the annual turnover rate between 15% and 24%. Finding replacements for departing teachers has become a greater challenge, leaving more classrooms without a designated teacher. In 2022, the School System’s vacancy rate was 4.2%, the 13th highest among 61 reporting districts in Louisiana and well above the 1.5% average rate. Three-quarters of the estimated $45.7 million annual cost of the pay raise plan would go to teachers, with the rest supporting the system’s leadership positions and support staff, as shown in the table here.
- The School System lacks clear alternative funding options that could fully support the pay raises on an ongoing basis, or significantly reduce the size of the proposed tax. While relying on the School System’s current revenue streams to fund the pay raises could save money for parish taxpayers, the system’s budget outlook does not indicate sustained, sufficient surpluses to make this a viable alternative to the tax.
- The School System does not anticipate increases in existing property tax or sales tax revenues sufficient to support the pay raise plan. Increased State funding for schools is uncertain. In general, new State funding could help the School System and other districts statewide to make their pay scales more competitive with other sectors and schools outside Louisiana. However, it would not necessarily make Jefferson teacher salaries more competitive with area districts in the same way as the proposed locally funded raises.
For more information and to read the full BGR report, click here.