Could make for a real hot summer

Well these are some fightin' words right here.

The key details of a teacher pay raise remained unresolved Tuesday with nine days left in the session, sparking questions on whether a controversial end to the debate could spark a walkout or other job action by teachers.

Education leaders and some lawmakers say that, if the pay raises are for one year only, action by already restive public school teachers is all but certain.

"If it doesn't happen the way it needs to will teachers even come back to school?" asked Shane Riddle, legislative and political director of the Louisiana Association of Educators, one of the state's two teacher unions.

Right now there are two versions of the teacher pay raise.  The details are a little bit technical.  The Senate version boosts salaries by $1000 for teachers and $500 for support staff baked into a $39 million increase in the Minimum Foundation Plan formula for public school funding recommended by BESE. The House version is a one time gimmick that raises teacher pay by $1200 and support staff by $600. The critical difference is, without the MFP increase, the salary bump is not a guaranteed recurring raise.

The tea leaves I've been looking at this month suggest that the Senate version is going to be what eventually comes out of the process.  Maybe there will be some nail biting during conference but even so it sounds like that's where we're headed.  Otherwise, the teachers had better be ready to back up their fightin' words when the new school year comes around.  If something goes haywire during this last week in the legislature, it's going to be a scramble trying to organize a strike over the summer.