(Baton Rouge – February 23, 2010) Governor Bobby Jindal should rethink budget plans that would force local school boards to shoulder millions of dollars of expenses that should be paid by the state, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today.

According to reports, the governor’s budget would require local school systems to pay a state-mandated $5,000 annual stipend to teachers who earn national certification, and to pay the cost of transporting private and religious school students to their schools.

“School boards are already bracing for a second year of standstill funding,” Monaghan said. “Asking these cash-strapped boards to take on state obligations suggests a complete lack of understanding on the part of administration. While funding is likely to be frozen, health insurance premiums and other costs have skyrocketed."

“If the state really cannot afford transportation for private school students, then the governor should propose eliminating the private school transportation stipend," Monaghan said. “However, national board certification is an intense process that brings real value to children in Louisiana classrooms, and we would hope that the governor would make its funding a priority."

The state’s financial situation is perilous, Monaghan said, but the governor is “kicking the can down the road,” by forcing local governments to make decisions that should be made at the state level.

“The truth is that in the past few years, our governor and legislature indulged in an orgy of tax cuts and rebates that left Louisiana unable to address the needs of its citizens,” Monaghan said. “Now we are facing the results of those bad choices, and the people of the state will suffer as a result.”