Alan Berube

Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday that a $1,000 annual pay raise for teachers and $500 for school support staff would be his top legislative priority in 2019, calling it critical to attracting motivated people to the profession.

Number of the Day

12.4 percent - Poverty rate for the 100 largest metro areas in the nation. This is the fourth year in a row that major metro poverty has fallen. New Orleans was the only metro area where poverty increased. (Source: Brookings Institution)