Our Views: Don’t form other district

We’re dismayed that state Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, plans to resurrect his breakaway school district bill for the upcoming session of the Legislature. White said the bill, which has not yet been filed, would be similar to a bill he filed last year that would help create a new school district in southeast Baton Rouse.

White’s breakaway school district bill failed last year in the Legislature, where a two-thirds majority of yes votes in each chamber was required to put the measure on the ballot as a constitutional amendment.

If White’s bill is approved by the Legislature, a statewide referendum would be held. The referendum would need to pass both in East Baton Rouge Parish and statewide.

Establishing yet another breakaway school district threatens to further weaken the East Baton Rouge Parish public school system and lead to diminished resources for critical programs, such as gifted and talented services. It would cause unneeded and unhelpful disruption for many children already in the system.

White recently said he’s been in talks with East Baton Rouge Parish School Superintendent Bernard Taylor about the issue, but those talks haven’t resolved concerns from residents pushing the breakaway district.

We hope that White and Taylor continue talking. We believe there are better alternatives for improving public education in the parish than establishing another school district. We’re stronger together, not apart.

Comments

1) Comment by Attila - 20/03/2013

Again I must ask the question. Why, since EBR schools have been integrated since 1963, and white flight has left the EBR schools sytem 90% black, has the system has gone to one of the best in the state to one of the worst? Just axin.

2) Comment by FedUpTaxpayer - 20/03/2013

Comment by Grannee - Sen. White represents that area of town and he was elected to represent them. He is doing what they have asked him to. Texas has MANY ISD (Independent School Districts) and they have excellent schools. We have done nothing but throw money at this situation for YEARS and YEARS now and EBR is still failing. I won't pretend to know why. You can't pay parents to care about their kids and do responsible things so that their kids can succeed. But I'm sure the teacher's union cares and knows how to improve our schools, righ??? SMH!

3) Comment by nimby? - 19/03/2013

sryan , I watched Asian , Middle eastern , Indian/Pakistanis move into these neighbor hoods , enroll their children at these school . I saw how they were treated by the community . watched them move as soon as they could . different cultures , values . Tea , if more parents in EBR were to show your level of concern we might not be having this conversation ...

4) Comment by sryan - 19/03/2013

Anyone with a front row seat would recall that white families left and continue to leave EBR schools, which are now in most schools almost entirely black. This is not because people of all colors left for a better opportunity, but because white families left for suburbs after integration and the bussing fiasco.To deny this is very dishonest. The name 'white flight' wasnt arrived at by some accident either. EBR is a mostly black school district surrounded by mostly white school districts that continue to grow as EBR shrinks. Placing 'undesirables' in quote marks clearly indicates the use of irony. We all know what that means and its been borne out in the demographic changes of EBR schools over decades now. Pretending there was and is an equal move to the whiter suburbs by all ethnicities is just dishonest and I suspect masks a political position tied to an affinity for the original impetus of that 'white flight' in the first place. I undertand that is also an assumption, but much of what we infer is and, in the absence of a life of strict literalism every day, must be. This new district may or may not arrive and I have children in it right now. They are white and in the SE region affected by this legislation. If parents already have the choice to move to Central or Zachary or Denham, then no need to create a new district to give the 'choice' that already exists.

5) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 19/03/2013

and when did i mention color? YOU assume too much

6) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 19/03/2013

"I too am one of those "undesirables""nimby, took you longer than i thought to mention that...sheesh

7) Comment by nimby? - 19/03/2013

"those with little value of education" come in all colors . you assume to much . remember , I too am one of those "undesirables" . @sryan ; I lived in those neighborhoods , taught at the schools , I had a front row seat ...

8) Comment by sryan - 19/03/2013

white flight is called white flight becuase white people fled. housing prices are much higher in zachary or central and people from north baton rouge generally cannot afford houses 3 times pricier than the ones they currently occupy. it doesnt pay to fake innocence and naivety. we all knwo what shape many of the neighborhoods in N baton rouge are in. those people dont have the option of uppng and buying a $200,000 house in Central. and if they did, many would feel unwelcome, rightly or wrongly. many of the whites that took flight get very nervous about those people they fled from moving on up and right back into their nice new neighborhoods. to say that white flight involved lots of different ethnic groups is so disingenuous that it insults those of us who remember very well living through it. it still goes on today.

9) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 19/03/2013

and Zachary and Central are distinct municipalities not just "districts". Carving out a section of a municipality is NOT the same no matter how you choose to present it. My child gets a great education surrounded by the ones you choose to label as "those with little value of education". No special district required.

10) Comment by nimby? - 19/03/2013

Tea , what am I supposed to gather from your previous post ? the "undesirables" parents a wanting to distance from are those with little value of education . so called white flight involved parents of all colors , backgrounds wanting better for their children . no one is preventing "undesirables" from attending central , zachary provided they live in the district , will be the same in SEBR . as mentioned let the people decide .

11) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 19/03/2013

ah, the professor chimes in....by calling me a snob. Of all the posters here you should not be calling anyone snobbish. You bring up your tribal affiliation whenever you can, mostly when it has no bearing on the discussion. So get over yourself. ... so why should I explain a term that you already know is the true reason for the breakaway? You know what is meant by "undesirables". The GT programs are embedded in neighborhood schools and GT students attend classes with traditional students.

12) Comment by nimby? - 19/03/2013

the majority of the students in the parish are average . a greater portion EBR's resources goes to the brightest , and the not so bright . it's a shame they aren't "committed enough to get into the gifted program" , snob . many student struggle to make a B , C . they develop a good work ethic , study habits that are beneficial once reaching college . they are in fact better prepared for the future than those who breeze thru school without cracking a book , only to flunk out 2nd semester . responsible parents will do whatever to make sure their children get the best possible education . if it means a separate district , focusing on education rather than numbers , quotas or social experimentation let the people vote , decide for themselves . please explain "undesirables" ...

13) Comment by MBW - 18/03/2013

I don't get the complaints about busing kids across the parish. What parent in today's helicopter-parent culture actually lets their child walk to school anyway?

14) Comment by MBW - 18/03/2013

Look, we need to have a good school system. It helps property values and attracts development. Put our energies into having a good school system.

15) Comment by MBW - 18/03/2013

We should integrate schools by economic status, not by race. Set a rule that every school should reflect the income levels of the parish. That way you don't have "poor" schools and "rich schools". They tried it in Wake County, NC, with much success.

16) Comment by nimby? - 18/03/2013

there is another choice made by many who've grown tired waiting , move ....

17) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 18/03/2013

Whocares, we get it. You or your child didn't get into BRHS so you rail against it. Or wasn't committed enough to get into the gifted program. Either way, you just sound like sour grapes and cry about the choices that actually are available to parents. It's just sad that these choices still involve the "undesirables" your little breakaway district would exclude.

18) Comment by spqr - 18/03/2013

Phil !!! Let the voters decide? That would be democracy!

19) Comment by WhoCares - 18/03/2013

Unity, we get it, you are all about BRHS, Self Contained Gifted, and University High limited access. You just don't get it. The home value point you attempt to make is awful.

20) Comment by unity - 18/03/2013

This proposed breakaway does more harm than good. Our education budget gets cut every year. Splitting EBR into ISD's would further deplete resources, by adding more administrative salaries. While some residents of Baton Rouge may see the breakaway as a personal benefit to their property values, the majority of EBR (about 85%) would be the financial losers in this deal. We are stronger together than separated. I disagree with the assertion that EBR is a dismal failure. Let's compare National Merit Scholarship semifinalists in EBR versus Central, Baker or Zachary. In EBR, in 2013, there are 23 public school students who have qualified for this honor. Zachary had one, Central-none, Baker- none. It seems to me that some parents are finding a great education for their children through EBRPSS is very possible. Here's the link: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/assets/pdf/D9194538912.PDF

21) Comment by Attila - 18/03/2013

Y'all keep on talking about vouchers so that kids can attend better schools of their choice. My question is: In what parish are these kids going to find those "better" schools because it definitely is not going to be EBR....and since adjoining parishes must agree to accept these "students", I do not see more than a handful fleeing this deplorable system. Why would the people of parishes with good schools agree to ruin their system by accepting people who would only force them to dumb down their standards? Answer: they won't.

22) Comment by WhoCares - 18/03/2013

Phil, this has nothing to do with vouchers. I'm all for this and live in the district. I don't understand why they don't just let the voters decide.

23) Comment by 8point6 - 18/03/2013

If "our views" is against this new school district, then, I'm all for the new school district.

24) Comment by Thisguy - 18/03/2013

I live in the proposed district and am in full support of the renewed efforts. The simple fact is I don't trust the EBR School Board and fair or not, the superintendent as an extension of the Board. Backpedaling has already begun on recent promises of reform and new zones. The EBR district is too big and too bloated. I am for decentralization when it comes to schools. Let the residents of Southeast Baton Rouge control their own schools. I would actually consider putting my children in the schools if the district were to exist as an ISD. As long as EBR is in control? No way.

25) Comment by nimby? - 18/03/2013

as one commenter has already suggested parents don't have time to wait for the EBR system to fix itself .

26) Comment by phil - 18/03/2013

I understand why they want to break away but unfortunately it will probably have an overall negative affect on public schools in EBR Parish. Vouchers are not the answer to anything related to public schools because vouchers will not fix the existing public school system and will just add profits to for-profit schools and place tax money into some people's hands who seem to have an eye on those funds. If unions are a problem with public schools, then the real solution would seem to be to fix the unions.

27) Comment by momsrule - 18/03/2013

jdk944: "Parents want community schools". EBR has community schools. Have you looked at Zachary? Zachary is the one who does not. They follow a grade cluster approach which means the schools are basically grouped 2 grade levels each. Pre-K is stand alone; then you have K-1, 2-3, 3-4, etc to high school 9-12. I have 3 children (grades 1st, 3rd, & 6th) who would not be at the same school together until high school. I ask you, how is that a COMMUNITY SCHOOL system?

28) Comment by lgmom - 18/03/2013

jdk944: I sympathize with your feelings, but you have several facts incorrect. The only students bused in EBR are those who choose it. They attend schools with special programs or, if the school close to them is failing, by law they have the right to be offered the chance to go to a school that isn't. 75% of the students attending the "pull-out" schools are from that community. The 25% who don't attend those schools have chosen a magnet, gifted, or special service program. The parents have said that they want community schools - schools in their neighborhood. But what the leaders of this plan have proposed many grade specific schools (similar to the 6th grade academy in Zachary). The end result is that kids will still be bused away from their neighborhood and change schools every couple of years. I wonder why the leaders don't run for the school board, encourage their people to become more active in their schools' PTAs, volunteer to more in the classrooms. They talk about being willing to do all this hard work, spend all this time, energy and money to create a new district. Why not spend all that improving the one we have.

29) Comment by Scrooge - 18/03/2013

This is just another liberal scheme to create another school board of bureaucratic tax leeches. The first thing that they will try to do is impose another tax to pay their absurd salaries.Why is another school district paid for with other peoples money needed when this "majority of the parents of children in the proposed district" can just use vouchers to attend the school of their choice? Aren't private schools much better anyway? Why build another failing public school district, isn't private is always better and government can't do anything right? Louisiana does lead the nation in one category and it ain't about being smart.

30) Comment by tradewinns - 18/03/2013

you only have a certain amount of time to help your children, so save them! to be tied to a failing, costly, no hope school system is to tell your children you do not care about them. and yes the "underpriviliged" children of useless welfare breed parents do not care about their children's education, much less your kids education. there is no hope for EBR's education system don't allow it to destroy your kids.

31) Comment by [e-mail] - 18/03/2013

Answer me this, somebody; what hubris is this, that one group of people are expected to be responsible to drag students of another into a higher level of education? It's never worked, and it never will. Osmosis doesn't work that way.

32) Comment by Being_Stupid - 18/03/2013

The solution is to bury your head in the sand and pretend we do not have a public education problem in Baton Rouge. Resist reform. Resist vouchers and breakawy school districts. Give the Teacher's Union and School Board another 20 years to improve our Government Monopolized School System. They just need a little more time and a lot more taxpayer money to fix the problem they created.

33) Comment by Being_Stupid - 18/03/2013

If the local legislature will not allow for breakaway school district, then convert to voucher system now, before everybody with children moves out of Baton Rouge to escape our horrible public school system.

34) Comment by Being_Stupid - 18/03/2013

meanwhile.... we have a drain of folks moving to Livingston, Ascension, and Central because of the atrocious public school system in East Baton Rouge Parish.

35) Comment by jdk944 - 18/03/2013

And I am "dismayed" Advocate that you fail to understand the reality of this situation. This school system is BROKE! Parents want "community" schools. They want to be a direct part in their kid's education and not watch them shipped all over the city for the benefit of some federal or local mandates. There is no ownership anymore between schools in neighbors since many of them DON'T EVEN GO TO THOSE SCHOOLS. Look at the results of Zachary and Central schools and then tell us again why it's a bad idea.

36) Comment by spqr - 18/03/2013

Granee...White's experience was solicited by those trying to create the new school district.

37) Comment by agagent - 18/03/2013

If you support more centralized power in public schools, you oppose the new school districts. Before centralization each neighborhood had its own school, and we spent a lot less time and money transporting students to the huge centralized schools. Communities and parents were more involved in public schools and students were more comfortable in familiar surroundings around familiar educators.

38) Comment by Grannee - 18/03/2013

First, that's your opinion and what were your views when Zachary, Baker and Central broke away? Also, why is White so concerned about what goes on in SEBR? He lives in Central and should not be allowed to spearhead anything in this area. Worry about Central Mr. White otherwise, I have to question your motives and interest in this breakaway..

39) Comment by ScotB - 18/03/2013

The majority of the parents of children in the proposed district do not seem to agree with The Advocate's view that "we are stronger together, not apart." The people in that area should have some say in what their children's school district looks like and if they can effect that change through our system of government, then they should do so.