Superintendent: state executive order on teacher pay may affect DeSoto Parish budget; capital projects on track

During the June 4 meeting Superintendent Kley reported on multiple capital projects and a pending statewide policy development. Kley said Loganport High School is on track for occupancy on July 10; the administration and library wing at North Dakota Lower Elementary are complete with the classroom wing targeted for late fall; North Dakota Middle’s classroom wing and band hall are ahead of schedule; and Stanley High School’s re-roofing project is scheduled to begin Monday. The pre-construction meeting for the baseball/softball batting-cage project at North Dakota High School was scheduled for next week.

Kley also said statewide literacy results would be released the following Monday and that the district expects to share those results with the board. More prominently, he flagged a recently issued gubernatorial executive order concerning teacher pay. "…we will get a district-specific financial breakdown within the next few days to just to see what type of implications this order is going to place on the district," he said, and the district will participate in state calls to debrief and obtain guidance.

Board members asked whether the executive order requires legislative approval; Kley said implementation would require legislative action by a two-thirds vote and that the process may be handled by mail-in ballot. He stressed the district modeled the 6.8% raise against conservative revenue scenarios to protect sustainability but acknowledged that final state guidance could affect future decisions.

The superintendent asked staff to watch for the state release and to expect follow-up communication. The board received the capital updates and the district’s plan to monitor state guidance as the meeting moved on to other agenda items.