Teachers protest lack of pay increases

Teachers and other school staff were in front of the school district office on Te Mamou Road beginning at noon Monday, November 10, holding signs complaining of a lack of cost of living pay increases.
The picketers held signs outside the school board office while most of the passing vehicles honked in support of them.
The spokeswoman for the picketers was Dr. Marie DeYoung, who said that while the superintendent and the central office staff have received automatic increases, teachers and school staff haven’t. And they are the ones who have increased the overall parish school average one letter grade to a B.
Evangeline School Superintendent Toni Hamlin released a statement indicating she was receiving medical care and was unable to meet the picketers, but the next day, she would meet with a representative of the Louisiana Association of Educators.
DeYoung said a recent contract renewal with Superintendent Toni Hamlin, with eight of the 13 school board members voting in favor, gave Hamlin a three percent increase in salary.
Budget constraints prompted the school board to vote for salary freezes in 2011, and in 2012 the Legislature gave school superintendents the authority to increase salaries of teachers and staff.
DeYoung said teachers and staff hoped they would be given cost of living increases for the first time in five years during their most recent contracts renewals, particularly because of the improvement in student performance, as certified by the state, with Evangeline Parish School District improving from a C grade to a B.
Teachers at the picketing said they would attend the next meeting of the school board, on Wednesday, November 19.
Talking to The Gazette, Hamlin said she would be meeting with representatives from each school late Wednesday to provide them with information and clarification regarding their concerns over her salary. She also stated she will listen to their concerns, as she believes they want to see some hope of salary adjustments soon.