Comments for CABL urges support of reform bill at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.theind.com Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:13:58 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/home/4475#comment-1234 In the nine years that I have been actively involved with the Lafayette Parish School System, the benefits of the provisions of HB 851 have become increasingly apparent. First, the selection of the Superintendent by a super-majority rather than a simple majority will necessarily result in a broader consensus on the appropriate hire. The same will be true in the event of termination and will help safeguard against punishing a Superintendent for doing the "right thing" that may not be politically expedient. Second, taking the School Board members out of the direct control of operations will assure that the professional educators control that function. The School Board should set the community's goals by which we can evaluate the Superintendent's performance. Third, removing the School Board members from operational decisions will reduce the current time demands of the office and open the doors for a broader range of candidates for the office. - Gary McGoffin Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:54:02 +0100 http://www.theind.com/home/4475#comment-1232 Again, a call for changing school boards to give our kids "a world class education" (according to Pastorek) -- without any explanation of how changing the number of votes required to fire a superintendent will change one single thing in one single classroom. If we want to give our kids a world class education, let's institute changes that have worked elsewhere. The school improvement we all want is within our reach -- if we're willing to foot the bill. And it has nothing to do with how many votes it takes to fire a superintendent. - Amused Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:18:31 +0100 http://www.theind.com/home/4475#comment-1230 Would Greg Davis be as likely to want to cut the power of locally elected school boards if the Lafayette Parish School board wasn't demanding that the Cajun Dome pay back taxes it owes? Why does business and chamber interest in school "reform" always correspond to what leads to lower taxes for businesses the members own? (And so indirectly leads to higher taxes for the rest of us.) Greg Davis has recently come to the elected officials of this community (including the school board) asking for yet another handout for the Cajun Dome. He is not in a great place to advise on those same public officials on best management practices. - Just Curious Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:02:50 +0100