Louisiana Is Finally Climbing: So Why Is Landry Playing With the Ladder?

Wait a minute, Louisiana.

Didn't we just spend years complaining about being No. 49 in the nation when it comes to education?

Yes, we did.

The 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book ranked Louisiana 49th nationally in education. Another national ranking also places Louisiana at No. 49. So let's not pretend Louisiana suddenly became the Harvard of public education because somebody put a new number on a PowerPoint presentation.

But here's where things get interesting.

Louisiana's students have actually been making significant academic progress. Recent national assessments show Louisiana climbing dramatically in student performance, with the state posting some of the nation's strongest gains in reading and math.

In other words, after years of being near the bottom, Louisiana is finally showing signs that something is working.

So naturally, what do we do?

Why, we start rearranging the money.

Because apparently, nothing says, "Let's protect our educational progress," like taking funding away from thousands of school employees.

Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.

Welcome to the Landry Education Shuffle

Gov. Jeff Landry says Louisiana doesn't have a revenue problem.

It has a priorities problem.

Well, Governor, we're listening.

For the 2026-27 school year, Louisiana has set aside $168 million for school stipends.

Sounds good.

Teachers deserve more money.

They absolutely do.

But then comes the part that makes you scratch your head.

Approximately 12,200 K-12 positions that qualified for stipends last year will no longer qualify this year, including school nurses, counselors and therapists.

Wait.

What?

We're trying to improve education, and we're reducing financial incentives for thousands of people who work inside our schools?

Somebody please explain the logic.

Because apparently, everybody in the school isn't part of education

Maybe we've misunderstood how schools work.

Perhaps teachers teach.

Students learn.

And everybody else just hangs around the building.

That's the only explanation that makes sense.

Because if school nurses, counselors and therapists are important enough to help children succeed, why are thousands of those positions suddenly less worthy of the financial support they received last year?

A student has a medical emergency?

Find the nurse.

A child is struggling emotionally?

Find the counselor.

A student with disabilities needs specialized support?

Find the therapist.

But when it comes to compensation?

Sorry. Budget meeting.

That's where the sarcasm ends and the concern begins.

These aren't luxury positions.

They are part of the infrastructure of public education.

And let's be clear: $2,000 isn't a permanent raise

The $2,000 stipend for eligible classroom teachers sounds impressive until we remember what it is.

A stipend.

Not a permanent salary increase.

Not a new salary schedule.

Not a recurring commitment.

Not a guarantee that the same money will be there next year.

It's a one-time payment.

Even Louisiana legislative leaders have acknowledged that the state needs a sustainable, recurring solution to teacher compensation rather than repeatedly relying on temporary stipends.

So why are we still doing this?

Because apparently Louisiana has discovered that it's easier to write a check today than solve a problem permanently tomorrow.

Louisiana is No. 49 — remember?

This is the part I really don't want us to forget.

Louisiana has spent decades trying to escape the bottom of national education rankings.

No. 49 isn't something we should wear like a championship ring.

It is a warning.

It tells us that Louisiana cannot afford to become complacent.

And now, just as our students are showing meaningful academic improvement, we should be asking whether the state is making decisions that could undermine that progress.

The irony is almost unbelievable.

We finally start climbing — and now somebody wants to move the ladder.

Louisiana's recent academic gains are worth celebrating.

But improvement does not mean the job is finished.

If anything, improvement means we should double down.

Invest more.

Recruit better.

Retain experienced educators.

Strengthen counseling.

Strengthen health services.

Strengthen special education.

Give school districts the resources they need.

Instead, we're moving money around and telling everyone to trust the process.

Well, forgive us if Louisiana parents want to see the math.

Somebody eventually pays the bill

The $168 million reduction comes from the Minimum Foundation Program, Louisiana's primary mechanism for funding public education.

The administration says school districts should protect essential services and, where feasible, use fund balances to offset the reduction.

There's just one little problem.

Fund balances aren't free money.

They're reserves.

They're there because something eventually goes wrong.

A roof needs replacing.

An air-conditioning system dies in August.

Insurance goes up.

Transportation costs increase.

A school needs repairs.

A hurricane comes through.

Or the state has another brilliant idea.

And then what?

"Sorry, we already spent the reserves."

But at least somebody got a stipend.

Black Louisiana should be paying especially close attention

This isn't just about teachers.

For many Black families, public schools are providing services that extend far beyond academics.

The counselor may be helping a child navigate trauma.

The nurse may be the only health professional regularly available to a student.

The therapist may be essential to a child with disabilities.

The school may be the place where a struggling child receives stability, structure and support.

When those professionals become harder to recruit and retain, the impact isn't theoretical.

It reaches children.

And communities with fewer resources often have fewer alternatives.

That's why this isn't merely a budget debate.

It's an equity issue.

Governor Landry, you said it's a priorities problem

We agree.

It is a priorities problem.

So let's prioritize the right things.

Let's permanently invest in the people educating Louisiana's children.

Let's make teacher compensation competitive.

Let's protect school counselors, nurses and therapists.

Let's give school districts predictable funding.

Let's build on the academic progress our students are already making.

And let's stop treating education funding like a shell game where money disappears from one cup and magically appears under another.

Because moving money around doesn't create money.

A one-time stipend doesn't solve a permanent compensation problem.

And telling school districts to dip into their reserves doesn't make funding cuts disappear.

It simply sends the bill into the future.

We should know better by now

Louisiana has already spent too many years near the bottom.

We've heard the excuses.

We've seen the rankings.

We've watched generations of children pass through schools that were asked to do more with less.

Now, finally, our students are showing the country that Louisiana can improve.

That should make us want to invest even more — not start playing financial musical chairs with our schools.

So yes, Governor Landry.

You said Louisiana has a priorities problem.

You're right.

The question is whether Louisiana's priorities are finally going to be our children — or whether we're going to sacrifice long-term educational progress for another short-term political victory.

Because Louisiana doesn't need another education gimmick.

It needs a commitment.

And if we're finally climbing out of No. 49, the last thing we need is somebody pulling the ladder out from underneath us.

Our children deserve better.

And frankly, after all these years, Louisiana should know better.