Jindal mum on his plans
‘Education reform’ promised; details lacking
Area leaders are bending Gov. Bobby Jindal’s ear on what should be pursued in the upcoming legislative session.
Ideas include continuing to dilute school boards’ power, pushing vouchers, instilling term limits for school board members and scratching pensions for state workers.
Exactly which suggestions the governor is embracing is unclear.
“To me, it’s almost like you have a gift box and inside you have another gift box. When do you get to what it is?” asked Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.
The LFT is one of the largest teachers’ unions in the state.
Jindal vowed shortly after his Oct. 22 re-election to focus heavily on education during his second term. He offered no specifics.
Weeks later, he and chief aides are meeting with legislators and area leaders in what are being characterized as stakeholder sessions.
The governor declined to come to the phone Friday to discuss those conversations.
His chief of staff, Stephen Waguespack, would only say that “education reform” will be a top priority in the legislative session that starts in March. “We definitely have our views, but again, we want to listen to folks,” Waguespack said.
The results of that listening will be unveiled next year, he said.
“We’re going to roll out our plan in early January,” Waguespack said.
Barry Erwin, president of the Council for A Better Louisiana, said the Jindal administration appears to be focusing on legislation people are interested in pursuing.
CABL is a nonprofit organization that lobbies on public policy issues.
“I think from the administration’s point of view they already have a pretty good idea about the types of legislation they will be pushing next year, but they probably want to get a little more meat on the bones and flesh things out before they start talking a lot about them publicly,” he said.
Erwin said the governor is likely to tackle big and controversial issues that will require a lot of finesse.
Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus leader state Rep. Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge, said the governor made the unusual move of meeting with her.
Without revealing any agenda items, the governor asked her to work with him, she said.
“I got to meet with him,” Smith said of the Republican governor. “That did not happen before.”
Blueprint Louisiana, an influential group of businessmen, lawyers and doctors, came out of the gate with their suggestions for the 2012 legislative session before the governor was even elected to a second term.
The group’s ideas include abolishing teacher tenure protection, shifting public employees’ retirement plans from lifetime pensions to defined benefits and creating a single pre-kindergarten system.
Lamar Advertising executive Sean Reilly, of Baton Rouge, a member of Blueprint, said he met with Waguespack to talk about the ideas.
“The fourth floor seemed amenable,” he said, referring to the location of the Governor’s Office in the State Capitol.
Reilly said he is encouraged by the focus on education.
He said he expects a healthy discussion about higher education, including which entities might not belong in the LSU flagship mission.
Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, said he plans to meet with the governor this week.
The Louisiana Family Forum characterizes itself as a voice for traditional families.
“Louisiana is ripe for aggressive reform,” Mills said.
On his wish list, he said, is more opportunities for parental choice such as tuition tax credits.
Also known as vouchers, tuition tax credits offer parents a financial incentive for enrolling their children in private schools.
Monaghan said he has not met with the governor or his staff.
The governor’s spokesman, Kyle Plotkin, said the Jindal administration will meet with Monaghan’s organization.
Monaghan said the abolition of teacher tenure would be a colossal mistake.
“That’s not a fight we need to have or want to have,” he said.
Monaghan said his No. 1 request would be to define in dollars and cents the commitment to education, including how schools should be funded in the context of the tax exemptions the state grants to businesses.
Brigitte Nieland, a vice president for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, said she expects school choice options to be strengthened and for value-added teacher evaluations to be maintained.
On LABI’s wish list, she said, is increased penalties for micromanagement by school boards. She said she also expects another try at creating term limits for school board members.
Nieland also predicts proposals aimed at lowering the cost to the state of its workforce’s retirement.
“There’s going to be some activity around state retirement systems. They are on a path to implode,” she said.