KEY TAKEAWAYS: St. Tammany Parish School Board approved employee raises in a 9-0 vote, with one abstention. Certificated employees will receive a $500 pay-level increase, while support employees will receive $350, adjusted for work calendars and hours. The agreement expands bereavement leave a nd increases allowable personal leave from three days to four. Gov. Jeff Landry has separately proposed statewide one-time stipends of $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for support staff. The St. Tammany Parish School Board has approved pay raises for its 6,000 employees for the 2026-2027 school year. The board approved the measure by a 9-0 vote with one member abstaining and five board members absent. Prior to the June 9 school board meeting, there was an agreed-upon memorandum of understanding by the St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and Support Employees that provides one pay-level equivalent to $500 for certificated employees and $350 for support employees for the upcoming school year. The amounts will be weighted for calendars and hours as in the past. Under the MOU, employees also may receive two days of bereavement leave for the death of an eligible family member, with an additional day available when travel of 250 miles or more is required. The agreement also increases the number of personal leave days employees may use from three to four. The St. Tammany Parish Public School System educates almost 37,000 students across 55 schools. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also has a plan on the table that would use $168 million in state public education funding to provide one-time stipends of $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for support workers across Louisiana. ...read more read less