The irony is that at the precise time that Louisiana’s teachers have most demonstrated they deserve a pay raise they now are least likely to receive one, courtesy of the political left, which historically championed that cause.

Leftist voters did the opposite of what they once preached when, last month, they rejected a constitutional amendment that would have required school districts to grant the raise permanently. Opposing teacher unions, leftist special interests mobilized enough voters to sink the measure—though some distracted conservatives, who lost sight of the forest for the trees, helped them do it.

This came despite the fact that teachers arguably deserve a raise more than ever, given that Louisiana schools have sprinted up state educational rankings. In recent years, Louisiana schools have climbed the national rankings—an improvement that surely reflects better teaching and justifies increased compensation.

But without the changes the amendment proposed, granting that recurring prize becomes much harder. Generally, districts have underfunded their pension obligations, and the state Constitution requires them to close part of that gap by the early 2030s. Doing so demands taxpayers contribute a significantly higher portion of each educator’s salary into the retirement fund kitty.

The amendment would have addressed this by liquidating educational trust funds—built from one-time bonuses and currently distributing only modest sums—to pay off the unfunded accrued liability as a one-time expense. In exchange, districts would have been required to set in stone pay raises at least equal to the temporary stipends teachers have received the past two years. In short, taxpayer funds would go toward covering future pay instead of settling an already-paid-off debt.

Now, with that off the table, and given the structure of the budget, squeezing out roughly $200 million will be difficult. Health care costs continue to spiral upwards—accelerated by the ill-advised Medicaid expansion a decade ago—and long-term projections show existing commitments making future budgets increasingly tight. Further complicating matters is a temporary redirection of vehicle tax revenue from capital projects to current spending will soon expire.

Passing that amendment would have helped to alleviate this belt-tightening and likely boosted economic development, which in turn would have increased government revenues. It was also expected to support the new education savings account (ESA) program. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry requested $50 million for that in the budget—but no money for teacher raises, which were supposed to have been covered by the amendment.

If raises are still to happen, Landry and Republican legislative leaders should demand meaningful policy tradeoffs—and make Democrats own the cost of their obstruction. One option: eliminate the flawed earned income tax credit, which costs the state about a quarter of what the teacher raise would cost. Democrats, on the other hand, want to double that credit, even though it discourages productivity and work.

Landry and GOP legislators must resist any rejiggering of his budget—like ESA funding, which already appears insufficient to meet demand, or increased public safety spending—in order to fund teacher pay hikes. They need to show Democrats there’s a cost to blocking sound fiscal reform. The left opposes these reforms because they reduce government’s size and empower citizens by letting them keep more of what they earn. Ironically, failing to pass the amendment ends up increasing taxes on lower-income households.

Hold the left’s feet to the fire by forcing it to accept less spending on its favored agenda items in exchange for the raise. And if its representatives prevent that, stay the course and tell the world exactly who sabotaged permanent higher pay for teachers – again.