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M o n d ay, M a r c h 10, 2025
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Raises for La. teachers would come at a cost, critics say Vote on constitutional amendment is March 29 BY ELYSE CARMOSINO | Staff writer
HERITAGE ON PARADE
ABOVE: The Northside Senior High School dance team and band participate in the African American Heritage Parade as it rolls down MLK Memorial Parkway on Sunday. RIGHT: A float rider taunts the crowd with her prime throw teddy bear on Sunday. BELOW: Northside Pack 100 Cub Scouts hold their banner as they walk in the parade. PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy
Louisiana residents will vote March 29 on a constitutional amendment that may seem cut-and-dry: Permanently raise teacher pay by $2,000 and support staff pay by $1,000. Louisiana teacher salaries are much lower than their counterparts in other states, and, despite years of promised raises, they’ve only received one-time stipends the past two years. Gov. Jeff Landry has strongly expressed support for increasing educator pay, saying in November that doing so would be “a much-deserved win for our unsung heroes.” “The truth is, we have the money to pay our teachers properly,” he said, “if we make the changes to unshackle ourselves from the bad decisions of the past.” But there’s a trade-off: If voters approve the constitutional change, known as Amendment 2, to free up money for teacher pay, it would mean diverting millions of dollars that help fund education efforts throughout the state each year, including early education programs and scholarships for aspiring teachers. “This is not free money,” said Jan Moller, executive director of Invest in Louisiana, a nonpartisan research and policy think tank that opposes the proposed amendment. Though state leaders have said they will likely be able to find other funding for some of the affected programs, it remains unclear which ones would receive that money and which risk being cut or reduced if the amendment passes.
ä See RAISES, page 4A
Israel cuts off electricity supply to Gaza Desalination plant producing drinking water affected BY MELANIE LIDMAN and SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press
Louisiana wildlife chief to take top job at ICE BY ALYSE PFEIL | Staff writer Madison Sheahan, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, is leaving to take a top role in Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Donald Trump’s administration, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Sunday morning. Sheahan will serve as deputy director, Noem said.
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“It’s no surprise that President @realDonaldTrump has tapped Madison Sheahan to help lead the Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement Agency,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a post on social media platform X. “I look forward to working with Madison in her new role.” Landry said the department’s deputy secretary, Tyler Bosworth, “will be
ä See SHEAHAN, page 4A
Madison Sheahan, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, is leaving to take a top role in Immigration and Customs Enforcement. STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, officials said Sunday, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory. Hamas called it part of Israel’s “starvation policy.” Israel last week suspended supplies of goods to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians, an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of the war. Israel is pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire. That phase ended last weekend. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others. The militant group — which has warned that discontinuing supplies would affect the hostages — said Sunday that it wrapped up the latest round of ceasefire talks with Egyptian
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ä See GAZA, page 4A
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