Some teachers in a tiny Louisiana parish are reportedly poised to pocket bonuses of more than $50,000 — a windfall powered partly by Meta’s massive AI data-center buildout.
Richland Parish School Board said teachers will receive bonuses of up to $50,935 this year, a staggering jump from last year’s maximum of $10,200, after sales-tax receipts surged during construction of Meta’s 4 million-square-foot Hyperion data center.
The payouts could exceed some teachers’ annual salaries, the Wall Street Journal reported.
District pay ranges from $29,504 to $52,335, according to the latest available school data cited in the report.
The rural parish collected $42.9 million in sales and use tax during the first nine months of the current fiscal year — more than double last year’s total, according to the Northwest Louisiana Finance Authority.
Meta separately made a $22.4 million tax payment to the parish in May, the authority said.
The teacher bonuses are funded through a 1% sales tax approved under a 1968 ordinance.
“As you can see, things like this are huge benefits to our people here,” said Scott Franklin, a director of the parish’s chamber of commerce who sold land for the data center to Meta.
“Anybody that complains about teachers getting a $50,000 check, they just instantly lose all credibility with me,” Franklin added.
Meta’s Louisiana project has become a potent counterpoint for tech giants battling rising opposition to data centers, as critics warn of strains on housing, power and affordability.
When the project was announced, Louisiana’s economic-development agency said the $10 billion facility would create 500 direct local jobs, 1,000 indirect jobs and employ 5,000 construction workers.
It remains unclear how many jobs will last after construction ends. Data centers typically require far fewer workers once operational.
Friday Ellis, mayor of nearby Monroe, estimated the project has brought about 8,000 new workers to the area.
The boom has poured money into local businesses as workers buy food, supplies and services across the region. Meta also pays taxes on construction costs through a state and local data-center equipment tax-break program.
Under that setup, Meta makes one annual payment to Richland Parish equal to 1% of its purchases. The local school district receives more than half of that payment.
Once the facility is completed, Meta will pay property taxes at a discounted rate. The company gets an 80% abatement for a set period but must still pay the remaining 20%.
Meta must employ at least 500 people at the site at all times under the agreement.
“Sales tax at that level may be somewhat temporary,” Franklin said, but property taxes “will live forever.”
The district had 163 full-time teachers in the 2024-25 school year. Support staff will receive bonuses of up to $17,472, up from $3,323 last year.
Richland Parish has about 20,000 residents — and was losing population before Meta moved in.
The payouts arrive as data centers have become a lightning rod in communities across the country.
Residents and environmental groups from Utah to Missouri have increasingly pushed back against large AI projects, arguing that they consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, strain local infrastructure and receive generous tax incentives while creating relatively few permanent jobs once construction is complete.