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.

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, as well as $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 actually projects 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.

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.