Jindal’s education proposal draws support, opposition

Following the announcement of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education reform plan on Tuesday, businesses, education and good government organizations began vocalizing their support of the governor’s plan with a flurry of press releases and public statements. Opposition to parts of the governor’s ambitious plan—which includes overhauling the teacher tenure system and expanding the voucher program statewide—was less public, but nonetheless apparent. As this story from The (Monroe) News-Star notes, school districts around the state object to the expansion of charter schools because every time a student gets a voucher, goes to a charter school or enrolls in a virtual school, the result is less funding for current schools. The formula for public schools is based largely on enrollment. In his speech on Tuesday detailing his plan—of which you can see an overview here—Jindal described teachers as “the backbone of our education system. They are the heart and soul of what makes our schools run and we should be celebrating them, promoting them and telling them how much we appreciate their service.” Leaders of teacher unions question why, if the governor really feels that way, he went on to degrade them in other parts of his speech. Jindal says he’s not looking for a battle with teachers and school officials, and he wants them to work together to accomplish improvements. “We’re not looking for a war, either,” says Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. But the way Jindal laid out his plan “will cause casualties on all sides. There have got to be places where we can work for the common good.” Jindal has put the complete transcript of his speech on his website here.