Caddo Parish teacher salaries start below $50K, advocates seek raises – Washington Examiner
The article discusses the low starting salaries for teachers in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, where initial annual pay begins below $50,000. The last teacher pay raise occurred in 2017, and since then, educators and advocates have been pushing the Caddo Parish School Board for salary increases. According to the updated 2024 salary schedule, starting pay ranges from approximately $47,865 for teachers with a bachelor’s degree to $53,220 for those with a doctorate, though the school’s website lists a lower starting salary of $44,065. Salaries progress in steps, with experienced teachers earning up to around $68,000, while principals earn starting salaries above $70,000, with possible increases to over $90,000. Advocacy groups like the Caddo Federation of Teachers and Red River United have repeatedly urged the board to raise pay due to the salaries being roughly 7% below the national average. Despite public concerns, the recently approved school board budget does not include any pay raises. Past advocacy in 2017 led to a 5% raise, but economic challenges have made further increases arduous without concerted efforts to convince local authorities.
Caddo Parish teacher salaries start below $50K, advocates seek raises
(The Center Square) — Records show that the last pay increase Caddo Parish teachers and school employees received was in 2017 and now advocates are campaigning again.
As teachers and advocates continue to request pay raises from the Caddo Parish School Board, salary data reports that some teachers start with an annual salary of $47,865 based on a 172-day salary schedule with the potential to start at $53,220 with a doctorate.
A salary schedule, which was updated in August 2024 by the Caddo Parish School Board, details the pay step schedule for teachers, principals and other school personnel depending on degree and certification.
According to the regular teacher salary schedule, starting pay is $47,865 with a bachelor’s degree, $50,007 with a master’s degree, $52,149 with a specialist degree and $53,220 with a doctorate. The pay steps range from zero to 30, with 30 being the final step a teacher can reach.
If a teacher is on step 30, the pay is $62,808 with a bachelor’s, $64,950 with a master’s, $67,092 with a specialist degree and $68,163 with a doctorate for the regular teacher schedule.
However, on the Caddo website, beginning teacher salary is listed as $44,065. Caddo Parish teachers earn around 7% below the national average, according to job listings.
On the higher end of the step-based pay scale, a high school principal’s base pay for 260 days starts at $70,592 with potential to increase to $93,237 at step 30. Other pay specified that sits higher than the teacher salaries are administrative positions, some reaching the six-figure range.
This step-based model of pay has caused concern, according to the Caddo Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel president Carlos McDaniel. McDaniel has spoken to the school board about this ongoing issue.
Red River United president Jordan Thomas has spoken at previous school board meetings advocating for teacher and school employee pay raises.
On Tuesday, Thomas voiced her concerns once again about the lack of raises after the school board approved their annual budget last month. Thomas also referenced a state-funded raise on the 2026 April ballot as a constitutional amendment.
This is not the first time Red River United has campaigned for Caddo teachers.
Back in 2017, former president Jackie Lansdale spent months advocating for the same issue, resulting in a 5% pay increase for teachers and school employees. This was the last pay raise Caddo school employees received.
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“Given the economic conditions in the state, there will be no pay raises for educators unless we make our case and show local school boards that they must find money for raises,” said Lansdale back in 2017.
The newly approved budget for the Caddo Parish School Board did not include pay raises for teachers, despite public concern.
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