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Governor John Bel Edwards proposes hopeful budget with no spending cuts
9News at 6, Fri., Feb. 26 Governor s budget presentation By Austin Kemker | February 26, 2021 at 4:30 PM CST - Updated February 26 at 7:28 PM
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Edwards administration proposed a budget for fiscal year 2022 that would use federal coronavirus aid to avoid cuts and provide additional funds to K-12 and higher education.
The $36.6 billion budget provides annual pay increases of $400 to K-12 public school teachers and $200 for K-12 support staff, a proposal that teachers unions immediately criticized as too small.
Commissioner Jay Dardenne, told legislators that the budget also includes a $56 million increase in funding for the state’s higher education system, $19.8 million of which is intended for faculty pay raises.