Governor John Bel Edwards gives COVID briefing January 13, 2022.
Baton Rouge – Governor John Bel Edwards has unveiled his proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1st, with a major focus on teacher pay and the state’s infrastructure needs. Edwards says improving education in Louisiana will help correct a lot of problems, and the best place to start is with teacher pay raises.
“The funding that I am talking about today, the 148.4 million dollars, provides for at least $1,500 pay raise for teachers and $750 for support staff,” said Edwards.
He says lawmakers can go even higher, should state surplus revenues projected for the current fiscal year prove true.
“And I’m calling on the legislator to take the first 49-million dollars of that additional recurring state general fund and increase teacher pay by another $500,” said Edwards.
The Governor’s budget contains one-point-one billion dollars for roads and bridges too. Including 500-million for a third Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge.
Louisiana Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says that money will augment a public-private partnership for construction because the actual cost of a new bridge and approaches will be much more than that
“The bridge itself from LA 1 to LA 30 is going to run upwards of eight to 900-million dollars in today’s dollars, in 3.5 to four years when we are ready to finalize that procurement, compound the increased cost over those four years,” said Wilson.
The governor’s infrastructure budget also includes $500-million for statewide water and sewer improvements & upgrades, $100-million towards finishing I-49 south of Lafayette and $100-million to kick-start a new I-10 Bridge at Lake Charles.
State lawmakers will discuss the budget during the regular session that begins in March. Final approval of the state’s spending will likely come in early June.
louisianaradionetwork.com/2022/01/25/governor-edwards-budget-proposal-allocates-hundreds-of-millions-dollars-for-education-and-roads/
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