Allen Parish school employees will receive a one-time state stipend and four separate local pay supplements totaling $6,700 for all certified employees and $4,450 for support personnel.

The School Board unanimously voted Monday to use more than $3 million in sales tax revenues, gaming compact funds from the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and portions of federal pandemic relief funds to provide pay supplements for its 650 employees beginning in October. School board members will not receive the supplements.

“When we started looking at supplements and stipends, we sort of played with the idea of when we should give these,” Superintendent Brad Solieau said. “Should it be one lump sum because a lot of people feel like after January you have that long time you don’t get a check because you get your check early, so as a team we decided to spread them out over three months.”

The first initiative will be paid in October as a state-funded stipend approved during the 2023 Louisiana legislative session. Under the plan, teachers will receive $2,000 with all other faculty and staff receiving $1,000, including pre-kindergarten staff.

The next two pay supplements will be distributed in December with revenue from sales tax revenues and gaming compact funds from the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.

In January, employees will receive the last two pay supplements with funds provided by Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, which were awarded to school districts during COVID-19 and additional sales tax revenue.

“I think this is very well deserved for our employees,” Solieau said. “I think everybody, regardless of where you work, I think you see the increase in the cost of things and we want to supplement our employees within our means.

“I think that is the hard thing cause when you look at what is generated in a parish, naturally some parishes generate more money than others, but I am personally going to do everything I can to supplement our employees and still being (fiscally) responsible.”

The first two supplements will cost the School Board more than $1.2 million with certified employees receiving $700 from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds and $1,900 from the Coushatta Tribe Gaming Compact Fund. Support personnel, including custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and paraprofessional will receive $450 from ESSER Funds and $900 from gaming funds.

All employees will receive $2,100 in two supplements provided from sales tax revenues.

The school district traditionally provides annual supplements at the end of the year with funds from the gaming compact with the Coushatta Tribe and sales tax generated by a one percent sales tax dedicated to salaries and benefits.