Across h, against Gov. Jeff Landry’s proposed education funding cut, saying it’s the wrong way to boost teacher pay.
Behind closed doors, some board members have debated going much further and joining a lawsuit to block the governor’s executive order, according to several board members and district officials. At least two parish school boards, St. Tammany and Orleans, had planned to discuss the possibility of taking legal action to stop the proposed funding cut at public meetings this week but decided against it, members said.
Landry’s June 2 order in state education funding this school year to pay for $2,000 stipends for teachers and $1,000 for school support staff. The funding cut must be approved by two-thirds of state lawmakers, who have until Tuesday to cast their ballots.
School district leaders have been urging their state representatives to oppose the plan, but some concluded that it is likely to pass because lawmakers are wary of voting against educator stipends or defying Landry, who could veto state funding for projects in their districts.
At the same time, several board members and superintendents said they have been approached about joining a statewide lawsuit challenging the legality of Landry’s order.
If such a lawsuit were filed, the aim would be to seek a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to block the funding cut, according to a legal strategy memo circulating among some board members. The potential legal effort has been spearheaded by Leslie Jacobs, a former state education board member and , several people said.
The St. Tammany Parish School Board was scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to hire a law firm to, “if warranted,” initiate or join such litigation, according to . However, the meeting was abruptly canceled.
District Superintendent Frank Jabbia said Wednesday that board members decided to pause consideration of legal action for now, giving lawmakers time to vote on Landry’s plan and potentially negotiate changes to it. He added that no school board wants to singlehandedly take on a powerful governor.
“There’s strength in numbers,” Jabbia said, adding that he does not believe any school boards so far have agreed to join a lawsuit challenging Landry’s order. “It was a situation where very few school systems, out of fear of retaliation, want to take that avenue.”
Jacobs, who did not comment on the legal effort, made a similar observation.
“There is a wariness to challenge the governor,” she said.
Elizabeth Crochet, a spokesperson for the governor, said the Landry administration feels “very confident about our legal position.”
“The sad part is that these school boards are side stepping the main issue,” she added in a statement, arguing that school systems have failed to adequately raise teacher pay even as spending has increased .
Possible legal action
Over the past two weeks, local education leaders have spoken out against Landry’s order.
In public statements and private conversations with lawmakers, superintendents and school board members have said they share Landry’s desire to keep teachers from losing the stipends the state has given them the past three years instead of raises. But they argue that cutting state funding for K-12 schools by roughly 5% to pay for the stipends unfairly shifts the financial burden from the state to school districts, which could lead to service or staffing reductions.
Some board members also have questioned the legality of Landry’s order.
, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education controls school funding. While the governor can reduce the overall funding amount with legislative approval, Landry’s order could be seen as reallocating the money, some board members said.
In addition, because Landry issued his order after the legislative session ended, the measure was not subject to the typical public hearings and debate. Instead, lawmakers have until June 23 to vote remotely.
“It strikes me as patently unconstitutional,” said Orleans Parish School Board Member Carlos Luis Zervigon, adding that he believes “there's a legal case to be made to stop this.”
The possibility of taking legal action came up during a recent conference call among school board members from across the state, according to people on the call. Separately, some members have said they were asked to join a multi-district lawsuit.
“I was approached today by a group that is working with school boards across the state and with superintendents to file a temporary restraining order against the executive order of the governor,” St. Tammany Parish School Board member Deborah McCollum said during a June 11 board meeting.
McCollum, who referred questions to a district spokesperson, did not say who approached her. But several people with direct knowledge of the legal effort said Jacobs has been leading the charge to recruit school boards and district officials for potential litigation.
The St. Tammany Parish School Board had been set to vote Tuesday on whether to retain the national law firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, & Berkowitz to advise the board about Landry’s order and, “if warranted, to initiate or participate in litigation” to stop it, the resolution said. Benjamin West Janke, an attorney and shareholder in the firm’s New Orleans office, produced a memo outlining a “litigation strategy” for challenging the order.
Janke did not respond to a request for comment.
In Orleans Parish, the school board had initially planned to discuss potential litigation during a special meeting Wednesday, according to people familiar with the plans. Instead, the board passed urging lawmakers to oppose Landry’s order.
Board member Katie Baudouin said the board is unlikely to join any legal effort unless other districts sign on.
“I can’t imagine us doing it on our own,” she said. “It feels like one of those things that everybody’s got to do it, or nobody’s going to do it.”
Staff writer Willie Swett contributed reporting.