Facing rising costs and a stagnant level of funding from the state, Zachary school leaders are contemplating going to voters in the fall to ask for tax dollars to pay for teacher raises, facility improvements and technology upgrades.

Superintendent Ben Necaise detailed the plan at a work session preceding the School Board鈥檚 April 1 meeting.

Necaise emphasized that he is not seeking a new property tax. Rather, he wants to reallocate existing millages that were created years ago to fund the construction of new school buildings.

The district currently collects 27 mills, which generates more than $9.5 million a year. As bonds are paid off, Necaise said, some of that money could be redirected toward salaries, facilities and other projects. But the district would first need voters to grant permission to use the taxes for purposes other than school construction.

Necaise said the additional funding is much needed. Here鈥檚 the picture he laid out for the board:

• Zachary relies heavily on the state鈥檚 Minimum Foundation Program, which currently provides local school districts $4,015 per student annually. Zachary has 5,509 children enrolled this year, so the state sent the district more than $37 million 鈥� accounting for about 57% of the district鈥檚 $66 million budget. MFP dollars comprise a much higher share of Zachary鈥檚 budget than many nearby systems, including East Baton Rouge Parish, which clocks in at 33%. Necaise said the MFP rate hasn鈥檛 kept up with inflation, and it hasn鈥檛 changed at all since the 2019-2020 school year.
• Zachary teacher salaries have long been a recruiting tool. New hires start at $50,000 with the possibility of working up to $65,000 in 30 years. But neighboring districts that recruit from the same talent pool have increased salaries. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 maintain our competitiveness 鈥� then we are losing it all,鈥� Necaise said. 鈥淭he programs aren鈥檛 going to matter if the people aren鈥檛 here to do the programs.鈥�
• School facilities look good overall but are nevertheless in need of improvements. Even those built after Zachary became an independent district in 2003 are beginning to need work as they reach and surpass the 20-year mark, Necaise said.

Necaise urged the board to vote at its May meeting 鈥� or June at the latest 鈥� on whether to put the matter on the November ballot. In the meantime, he plans to comb through the budget to find opportunities to become more efficient in hopes of giving teachers a $2,000 raise and support staff $1,000 next year regardless of the outcome of the tax proposal.

Editor's note: This story was changed on April 8 to remove incorrect information about teacher stipends given to teachers originally included in the story. The story incorrectly reported that a $1,200 stipend was given by the state. In fact, the stipend was given to teachers by the Zachary School District. The story incorrectly reported that "Because Louisiana voters rejected constitutional amendments last month, it鈥檚 unlikely there will be funds for the $1,200 stipends teachers have gotten from the state in recent years, Necaise said. Along with higher insurance and other costs, the loss of the stipends amounts to a sizable pay cut for teachers." We regret the error.