BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is wrestling with how to deliver on long-promised employee pay raises while not breaking the bank. Struggling to make the school system more competitive with surrounding districts, the board is presently weighing four alternatives, ranging from a one-time $2,000 stipend to a percentage-based, permanent raise that works out to $3,560 more a year for a starting teacher. The School Board is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday where it will discuss the options, but it will not make a final decision. Gov. John Bel Edwards says he plans to restore $100 million to the Department of Health's funding, reversing an unpopular spending cut approved by lawmakers in the final chaotic minutes of the legislative session. Without the action, the department could in fact lose up to $700 million because of how state money is matched by federal dollars, he says. Earlier Wednesday, Edwards announced he has vetoed eight other bills. The Metro Council has unanimously approved $3,681,000 for improvements at the Raising Cane's River Center, just the latest multi-million appropriation for the venue in recent years. As the money is being spent, the city-parish is awaiting the results of a facility market study intended to give officials more insight into how to best use the arena and attract acts to Baton Rouge. "This is really a Band-Aid approach," said Councilwoman Carolyn Coleman, whose District 10 contains downtown and the River Center. | 