Louisiana School Spending Audit Found Misclassified Funds
State auditors identified coding errors in local school districts that could impact future teacher pay raises.
Updated on Oct. 14, 2026 in Administration
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A September 30 audit of Louisiana school districts revealed widespread misclassification of classroom spending, affecting $12.1 million in expenditures. This data gap complicates state efforts to reallocate funds for teacher pay raises.
Why it matters
The Minimum Foundation Program Formula Task Force is currently evaluating this data to ensure the 70% mandatory classroom spending requirement is met. Accurate reporting is essential for the state to identify potential budget reallocations for educators.
Five of seven sampled districts failed to follow state handbook coding requirements, with one district miscoding all 200 reviewed entries. Overall, 35 school systems have yet to provide data for the state's K-12 Transparency website.
The players
Minimum Foundation Program Formula Task Force
This state entity is responsible for reshaping school funding formulas and investigating district spending to support teacher pay.
Louisiana Department of the Treasury
The state agency tasked with maintaining the K-12 Transparency website and overseeing school system financial compliance.
The details
The audit found that districts failed to use correct object and function codes as required by the Louisiana Accounting & Uniform Governmental Handbook. These errors masked the true nature of spending, including millions in severance, lobbyist payments, and event costs that were not clearly tied to classroom instruction. The treasury is now reviewing $12.1 million in expenditures to determine if they meet the 70% instructional spending mandate.
Timeline
• Act 370 was passed during the 2023 Regular Legislative Session.
• Audit report findings were officially released on September 30, 2026.
• The final task force report is due at the start of 2027.
The Home Front
The audit exposes significant discrepancies in how local school systems track and report public tax dollars allocated for classrooms. This lack of transparency complicates the state's broader effort to standardize school funding and adjust teacher compensation.
Parents should check the K-12 Transparency website to review the most recent financial submissions for their local school district. If your local system is among those with missing or incomplete data, consider attending a local school board meeting to request updates on their financial reporting status.
The takeaway
Reliable data is the foundation of effective state education reform and teacher salary improvements. Residents can stay informed by monitoring the status of their local school system's filings on the state treasury's transparency portal.
What happens next
The Minimum Foundation Program Formula Task Force is scheduled to submit its final report to the Legislature by the start of 2027.
Further reading
Learn more about the oversight of state educational institutions in the Administration section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Wafb.
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