By Message Staff
PINEVILLE – Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards highlighted bi-partisanship and teacher pay raises during a meeting of the North Rapides Business Alliance at Louisiana College Aug. 26.
“We can still get it done in Baton Rouge,” Edwards said, referencing bi-partisan passage of prison reform measures as an example. “We show up first and foremast as Louisianans, and we’re able to talk to one another, we’re able to work together, we’re able to move the ball forward.
“Today in Louisiana we are doing better,” he continued. “We still have our challenges. But relatively speaking we can meet our challenges, the ones that remain, from a position of strength not the position of weakness which is where we were before.”
Edwards touted a $1,000 annual pay raise for teachers and $500 raise for support personnel that won approval over a Republican proposal of $1,200 and $600, respectively. Edwards plan also kicked in $40 million to school districts.
Republicans and Democrats passed the increases during the last legislative session after Louisiana’s economy saw a lift from the national economic improvement during the last two years.
“All the school districts across Louisiana need the ability to attract and retain top quality teachers,” he said. “The No. 1 ingredient to quality education is the same as its always been and that’s to have a highly motivated professional well educated teacher in that classroom with our children teaching within his or her area of certification. But we’ve made it very, very hard because 10 years ago we were at the Southern average in teacher pay raise. Then we dropped more than 2,000 dollars below that. So this was our first step to get back to the Southern average, at least, so that we can invest in our children. The pay goes to the adults but the investment is in our children.”
Edwards also presented his Medicaid expansion as a pro-life issue.
“You all know that I’m pro-life,” Edwards said. “Many people would say well that’s a very conservative thing to do. But I want to tell you that the Medicaid expansion is a pro-life bill too. But by expanding Medicaid many people say well that’s a very liberal thing to do. That’s why I think the labels can be misleading because for me they both come from the same place.
“There is no doubt in my mind there are people who are alive in Louisiana today that would not be alive had I had not expanded Medicaid,” he continued. “And aside from those people, I know that the quality of life has been improved because we now have working poor people who have access to primary care and preventive care all over the state of Louisiana and their health is better for it and they get to remain in the workforce, they can support themselves and support their families.”
Edwards was the third gubernatorial candidate to speak at the North Rapides Business Alliance meeting. Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone and Congressman Ralph Abraham, both Republicans, shared at previous gatherings of the organization.
