BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry, who last month lamented that Louisiana residents were "conditioned for failure" after his proposed change in the state constitution failed at the ballot box, has written to the state's teachers that it is "back to the drawing board" for his effort to raise salaries.

His letter, sent Tuesday via the state Teachers Retirement System, noted that lawmakers approved his "Let Teachers Teach" initiative, which aimed to reduce paperwork, eliminate excessive training and clear classrooms of distracting behavior.

Voters, however, rejected Amendment 2 by nearly a 2-1 margin. While it would have extended a stipend for teachers,  provided raised support staff salaries and worked on retiring high-interest retirement program debt, it also would have changed a significant portion of the state's tax laws that proved unpalatable for many.

Landry blamed Democrats, but one provision that would have eliminated constitutional protections against taxation for some church property led some conservative pastors to work against Amendment 2. 

"In times of fiscal instability, our current Constitution turns education and health care into political pawns," Landry wrote. "Regrettably — with the setback faced by Amendment 2 — we are back to the drawing board, as no existing alternative recurring resources exist to fund the permanent salary increase you deserve."

With the sting of the March 29 election loss still fresh, Landry said he and others "realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a state that is conditioned for failure.”