(February 23, 2017) A legislative compromise that plugs the state’s $304 million budget hole with a combination of spending cuts and use of Rainy Day Fund money is the best deal that lawmakers could reach with Gov. John Bel Edwards, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter said today.

“The governor was able to keep his promise not to cut public education funds,” Carter said. “Faced with a range of bad choices and few good ones, this is the best deal that we could get.”

Prior to the start of the tense nine day special session, the governor said that he wanted to spend $119 million

 (February 22, 2017) A new study that cites Louisiana’s strict teacher tenure law as the reason for an uptick in teacher retirements and resignations downplays other reasons why educators may have become disenchanted with the profession, according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter.

“The 2012 law that gutted teacher tenure rights is certainly a factor in these decisions,” Carter said, “but the study ignored numerous other issues that have made teaching less attractive in recent years.”

The report from the Education Research Alliance of New Orleans, which is housed at