Baton Rouge businessman Lane Grigsby’s Political Action Committee, Alliance for Better Classrooms, enjoyed big wins in Saturday’s BESE elections.
ABC, which advocates for public education reform in the state, pushing for the state to take over failing schools and urging more charter schools and voucher programs, funneled a significant amount of money and support into the campaigns of Board of Elementary and Secondary Education incumbent Republican Chas Roemer, who easily defeated Democrat Donald Songy; and Kira Orange Jones, who beat fellow Democrat and incumbent Louella Givens.
ABC also backed Democrat Carolyn Hill who beat independent Jim Guillory for an open seat on the state board.
The election of these three, all of whom are viewed as reform candidates likely to support Gov. Bobby Jindal's education agenda, is being viewed as a major blow to teacher unions and some school boards, who tend to favor more traditional public school policies.
Jindal had endorsed only Roemer in the runoff but issued congratulatory emails to all three Saturday.
“Congratulations to Chas – a true leader in the education reform movement in Louisiana,” Jindal wrote. “Chas knows that in order to reform our education system, we must put students first – not adults. His experience will be critical to ensure that every child in Louisiana has the opportunity to succeed in the classroom.”
Saturday’s election also appears to make it likely that Jindal will win approval in January for his choice of superintendent to replace Paul Pastorek. The governor is pushing John White, the current head of the state-run Recovery School District, as Pastorek's replacement.
When he was re-elected in the primary, Jindal wasted no time saying the education initiatives he has been pushing since his first time will be at top of his list of priorities. The governor said he is focused on more choices for parents on where children can attend schools and expounding on teacher evaluations to link teacher rewards to improvements in student performance.
Read an earlier report on how BESE has been reshaped in favor of major education reform in the state here.
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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