There’s been a lot of debate and bluster lately about some proposed changes to the pay for Civil Service employees in Louisiana. Folks, we are playing in the margin. Let’s get serious about change and real reform.
Civil Service was established to “protect” state workers from the evils of politics and the whims of a new regime every four years. Sort of like a “union” to me. But what “Civil Service” is there in the private sector to protect everyone who works? There are federal and state labor laws, as well as company policies. We are a “fire at will” state—and folks can “quit at will,” too, if a better opportunity comes a long.
Funny, state workers have the right to “quit at will” if they choose to move on to greener pastures, but the state can’t “fire at will.” If the system in the private sector is good enough for most Americans, why isn’t it good enough for all Americans, including those who work for government? Some states have eliminated civil service—and that’s what should be the goal here in Louisiana. We shouldn’t have been looking at adjusting the formula for salary increases—which they screwed up anyway—but at eliminating Civil Service altogether. Using a lot more of the private-sector principles of our world-class free enterprise system would help transform an anemic and inefficient government operation.
Charter schools are one example: The bureaucratic red-tape and tenure are removed from government-run schools and replaced with customer service and accountability—and it works. You must perform and get results, or else. There is no Civil Service there to protect the workers. It’s a system that protects the students. And that is what schools are supposed to focus on: education, not job protection for the employees.
I urge the governor and the Legislature to raise their aim and target the elimination of Civil Service in state government and of tenure in our K-12 system. Now that would get results!
Kudos to EBR school board
New superintendent John Dilworth, the EBR school board and Baton Rouge had a shining moment this month when, with the endorsement of Dilworth, the board voted unanimously to approve the creation of two new technology-focused charter high schools.
Helix Network of Educational Choices, a local nonprofit, will establish a high school with 250 students in the ninth grade next summer. There will be 125 students in the digital media school and 125 students in the “STEM” school [Science, Technology, Engineering & Math]. Grades 10-12 will be added as students advance over the following three years.
The school will be similar to Hi-tech High in San Diego. One of the former faculty with Hi-tech High, Brian Dixon, will be moving to Baton Rouge to establish the new school. [Learn more about him here.]
With our city and state’s focus on digital arts, animation, film, gaming and a knowledge-based economy, this school seems like a natural fit, providing a feeder to those industries and related college majors. We must supply a consistent workforce to keep growing and attracting more companies.
The effort began in 2008 when energy company BP made a grant of $500,000 to the LSU Foundation for LSU to develop the school with Advance Innovative Education. The school now has its own local nonprofit board, which will negotiate the charter with EBR and operate the schools.
It is exciting to see this collaboration with LSU, our flagship university, on a new charter high school. And Dilworth noted that Chancellor Mike Martin’s support helped him make his decision to support the charters. Dilworth told The Advocate, “He [Martin] said to me that if this is something we wanted to do, that he would work with us to make it successful, and that’s good enough for me.” Me too.
Bryan Jones, president of the Helix board, was very appreciative of the support from Dilworth, Martin and the school board and told The Advocate, “This is an incredible opportunity for the Baton Rouge region, and particularly East Baton Rouge schools, to move forward on a truly innovative educational concept.”
This recent approval comes on the heels of another charter approved in August. Inspire Charter Academy, led by board chair Sister Judith Brun, former principal of St. Joseph’s Academy, will be a K-8 school run by the National Heritage Academies of Grand Rapids, Mich., and will target high-poverty students.
While EBR had been one of the pilot parishes when the charter law was first passed, and opened one of the first charter schools in the state, it has been more than a decade since the last charter was approved. The recent actions by Dilworth and the board are something we can celebrate and applaud. Wow! Change can happen!
Charters in America
Last week, the Wall Street Journal penned an editorial noting the growth and success of charter schools and a new milestone: More than 5,000 charters are now operating in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
The journal pointed out that:
• More than 1.5 million students attend charters, an 11% increase from a year ago.
• The number has more than quadrupled in the past decade.
• An estimated 365,000 kids were on waiting lists.
• They regularly outperform their peer groups in traditional public schools.
• In the 18-year history of charter schools, only 740 schools have lost their charters and been shut down for poor performance. [The important point here is that charters are held accountable for results, and the bad ones are closed. Students have a choice and no one must stay in a failing school.]
Louisiana is currently one of the states in the limelight. This year, our state’s cap on charters was removed by the Legislature. Also, The Louisiana Charter School Association had 500 in attendance at its state conference. [Visit the association’s Web site at lacharterschools.org and find “10 Things You Should Know About Charter Schools.”] Our governor, Legislature and BESE board have been pro-charter.
As the Journal editorial concluded, “We’d be hard pressed to name a more successful education reform in recent decades.” And, I would add, we must stay the course—and accelerate.
The streamlining show
I describe it as a “show” because occasionally there was a lot of acting going on during the deliberations of the Commission on Streamlining Government. There were lights and there was drama. On several occasions, I was confused. Some suggestions were very broad, such as the simplistic directive to cut 5,000 state employees a year. What they don’t tell you is that much of the employee growth [which is not controlled by the governor] comes at hospitals and universities. [LSU Chancellor Martin says 80% of his budget is staff.] So, if you whack 5,000 for each of the next three years, how many would come from these two areas?
And what kind of hue and cry would we hear for endangering lives at hospitals or devastating our universities? It would be loud. And some of the noise might be coming from the same politicians on this commission.
To confuse matters more, the commission went to the other extreme by suggesting micromanagement of all contracts by a legislative committee. A horrible idea and one that is likely to slow things down, and even add costs.
Let’s hope the show is followed by some real action. The next step is a reorganization plan for the initial recommendations, due Jan. 4.
