BATON ROUGE — The starting pay rate for an East Baton Rouge Parish School System teacher will increase by $6,000 if the district's proposed budget for the 2026-27 school year is approved. 

The budget proposes $21.8 million for a competitive compensation package, with a starting teacher salary of $56,000, up from the previous $50,000. According to the budget, this figure was decided in cooperation with a consultant to "create a more equitable compensation structure."

The new budget's pay schedule "aligns pay more fairly with years of experience and addresses longstanding salary compression concerns," the district noted in its proposal.

Kirk Green is a 7th-grade history teacher. He believes raises could help attract and retain more teachers. 

"Every one of the children and students in East Baton Rouge Parish deserves to have the best teacher in front of them. How do we get them? How do we retain them? This is a step in the right direction," said Green.

The 2026-27 budget also proposes $9.6 million in investments into early childhood education, $17.1 million in literacy and foundational learning, and $18.8 million in workforce development and career readiness. 

The budget also calls for $6.3 million to be invested into continuing to enhance school safety through security personnel, AI-powered metal detection, comprehensive camera systems, and improved campus infrastructure, and $64.3 million in facility improvements at Baton Rouge Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, McKinley High School, as well as the creation of a new e-sports complex at the former Broadmoor Middle School site.

The proposed budget outlines a decrease of nearly $50 million in revenue from the 2025-26 budget, with the total fund balance for the 2026-27 budget projected at $386,914,304, down from the previous budget of $440,294,168.

School Board Vice President, Cliff Lewis, said it's a comprehensive budget that will help improve the district. He believes it will pass.

"People want their kids in schools that are providing high-quality, equitable, fair education. That's the road we're on. If we're putting a product out there that works, people will come," said Lewis. This budget is moving EBR toward becoming a progressive school district that's able to compete with surrounding districts."

The full budget proposal can be read here.

A public hearing for the budget will be held on June 4 at 4:30 p.m. at 1050 South Foster Drive. The budget will be voted on by the school board on June 11, with the pay increases taking effect on July 1.