West Feliciana school employees to receive $7,000 stipends thanks to Hut 8 development

West Feliciana Parish school employees are slated to receive $7,000 stipends for the next two school years, a benefit made possible by a $10 million upfront payment from data center developer Hut 8. This payment, made in lieu of property taxes a year early, was approved by parish officials and will be distributed among the School Board ($5.3 million), Sheriff’s Office ($800,000), and parish government ($3.9 million) through the newly formed Parish Industrial Development Board.

School Superintendent Hollis Milton informed the School Board that the $5.3 million, combined with projected increases in sales and property tax revenue, will result in a $3.65 million revenue increase for the school system. This funding will support the stipends, raising West Feliciana's starting teacher pay to $59,272, making it highly competitive within the state for teacher recruitment.

Hut 8, a Florida-based company, is constructing an artificial intelligence data center in the southern part of the parish, with AI firm Anthropic set to be its tenant. In addition to the early tax payment, Hut 8 has committed up to $16 million for crucial water system improvements, including a new well, which it plans to donate to the parish's water infrastructure. Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing with Anthropic regarding a separate payment in lieu of taxes agreement for the installation of $60 million worth of graphic processing units.

The Parish Council, however, deferred action on a separate agreement concerning a servitude from Hut 8 for its water line construction. This deferral followed concerns raised by Councilman John Thompson and St. Francisville lawyer Charles Griffin regarding provisions that could allow the company to build over the servitude and potential issues with private property lines.