FERRIDAY, La. – State Rep. Bryant Hammett was taught an eye-opening lesson in economics in May, when 5,000 educators and school support workers rallied for raises at the Capitol.

Hammett was approached by a Vidalia High teacher in his mid-20s who had received a letter from a Texas school system promising him and his wife $2,000 signing bonuses and a $25,000-a-year increase in their joint income. That would help, the teacher said, in paying off defaulted student loans.

&uot;I said, ‘What are you going to do?’&uot; Hammett told members of the Ferriday Rotary Club at their Thursday meeting. &uot;He said, ‘I guess move to Texas. We don’t have much of a choice.’&uot;

Hammett said that is one of the main reasons he supports a pair of proposed constitutional amendments that would change the state’s tax structure, raising millions of dollars a year for educators and school support workers.

The measures will be included on the Nov. 7 ballot, and both must be passed for the changes to take effect Jan. 1.

Figures on how much eliminating a 4-cent sales tax on food and utilities and narrowing income tax brackets would generate per year vary slightly.

Stelly, in speaking with Vidalia Chamber members and educators Tuesday, said $202 million the first year, while Hammett quotes $205 million.

In any case, the measures would serve &uot;not only to keep the teachers we have, but to attract more teachers to the profession,&uot;&160;said Hammett, D-Ferriday. &uot;Our teachers are going to Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas, and fewer are getting into education.&uot;

Not all school personnel and administrators are for the amendments authored by Rep. Vic Stelly, R-Lake Charles, Hammett acknowledged.

Hammett said that principals and teachers he met with to discuss the &uot;Stelly plan&uot; earlier this week were concerned that the amendments do not spell out how much each group — grade-school teachers, college educators and support workers — would receive.

But it would not be wise for the Legislature to spell out how much each group, or how much the average worker, would receive until the state has the first year’s revenues in hand, Hammett said.

While at least 80 percent of the tax revenues would go to raises, lawmakers will also have the freedom to decide how to spend the remaining funds, as long as the money is spent on education-related expenses.

Despite all the unknowns, Hammett maintained that the Stelly plan is the best chance educators and school support workers have for a raise this year.

And Hammett, chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee, also maintained that the Stelly plan would also make changes to the state’s tax system that are needed anyway.

As it is, the state’s general fund is largely dependent on a 4-cent sales tax on food and utilities, a tax that has to be renewed every two years — a risky proposition that has resulted in a low bond rating for the state.

Revenues from that tax have been declining or flat for each of the last 15 years, Hammett added.

&uot;I know of no other ‘plan B,’ either for raises for teachers and support workers or to plug up the budget hole&uot; that would result if the sales tax was not passed, he said.

Property taxes — which, like income taxes, grow with the economy — cannot be used for state revenue. There is no statewide property tax, so even if homestead exemptions were cut, the resulting revenues would go to local governments, not the state.

And that is an unlikely scenario anyway, since lawmakers consider the exemption a &uot;sacred cow,&uot; Hammett said.