Comments for The Plan at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.theind.com Sun, 19 May 2013 07:32:50 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/cover-story/4234#comment-847 "The Plan" and "Class Action" articles present concise discussions of both sides of the pending public school reform legislation. Many thanks to Walter Pierce, Nathan Stubbs and The Independent for digging into the nitty gritty so that we can better understand it. This all comes down to putting people in the position to succeed. For instance, requiring that the Superintendent be selected by a Super-majority vote rather than a simple-majority maximizes that Superintedent's potential for fulfilling the goals of the school system as reflected through its elected representatives. Placing the management decisions in the hands of the Superintendent and removing the Board from those day to day decisions accomplishes four things: 1) It clarifies both the authority and the responsibility of the Superintendent for the consequences of those decisions and makes it possible for the Board to hold the Superintendent accountable. 2) It allows the Board to concentrate on setting the goals of the school system rather than being consumed by the day to day operations. 3) As a result, it relieves many of the time consuming burdens currently imposed upon individual School Board members thus making it possible for more good citizens to consider service on the School Board. 4) The "education" issues are addressed by the education professionals and the "community" goals are addressed by the community through its elected representatives. With this in mind, The Plan seems pretty straight forward. Lafayette Parish already has term limits for its School Board, the Consolidated Government and our Legislative delegation. No biggie there. Nobody is for Nepotism and that issue has been addressed successfully in both the corporate and public realms. Again, no biggie. Compensation is less of an issue when we eliminate needless meetings and votes by properly aligning the responsibilities with the authority to fulfill those responsibilities. Reimburse School Board member's actual expenses and pay their per diems. As for health insurance, no one should be in a position where their personal medical care is at risk for making an unpopular decision in the best interest of our students. Besides part-time employees are not eligible for group health benefits, why should School Board members be treated to a full-time benefit. The Plan is just a first step and a relatively modest one at that. But as with all journeys, the first step leads to the ultimate destination. Let's get started cause we have a long way to go. - Gary McGoffin Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:21:15 +0100 http://www.theind.com/cover-story/4234#comment-825 "On two of the proposals youââ?¬â?¢re taking power that the board currently has and giving it to the superintendent,ââ?¬Â says Carl LaCombe, the school boardââ?¬â?¢s president. ââ?¬Å?Thatââ?¬â?¢s one step removed from the people being represented. How responsive is the school system going to be to the public if those changes go into effect?ââ?¬Â The people of Lafayette are not represented now, Mr. LaCombe. The failing/stagnant scores of the LPSS do not represent the professional, educated and progressive population of Lafayette. The politics of the school board and central office (Lemoine and buddies) make it impossible to place the students first in public education. Tossing Easton was a good thing. Hiring Lemoine and then extending his contract (before it was due) with a raise did nothing for the students. The new board has already lost much of the public's support and trust. It is time for change. ââ?¬Å?I see the system, the way it operates, as a system of checks and balances." Lemoine The "system" operates as it always has. There are no "checks and balances". Tenure takes precedence over teacher ability. Good teachers/administrators don't need tenure. Bad teachers/administrators are protected by it at the expense of the students. We need to find a superintendent willing to take risks and rid central office and school administrations of "dead weight". We need the students' education to be the priority in the system NOT the adult employees. We need fiscal accountability and some kind of social responsibility within the LPSS in order for the scores to rise. It won't happen with the present administration/school board. The system will need money to move forward. I bet the citizens will not vote for a new tax until there is evidence of change within the LPSS. - Pedro Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:58:23 +0100 http://www.theind.com/cover-story/4234#comment-814 I don't quite understand this data point: Louisianaââ?¬â?¢s rank among the 50 states and District of Columbia for high school drop out rate (7.9% for Louisiana compared to a national average of 3.9%). How can a percentage reflect a ranking? If the figures are supposed to represent percentages of students who drop out, then the numbers are drastically misrepresented, both at the national and state level. Louisiana's high school drop out rate is much closer to 40% if you start counting in middle school. The 7.9% may reflect the percentage of students who drop out in their senior years, but national and state date clearly indicate that the highest percentage of dropouts occur in ninth grade! - mollybloom Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:51:28 +0100