Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White is hoping to hang on to his current position, regardless of who voters elect next month to be governor or to replace outgoing Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Chas Roemer, who represents the Sixth District.
“I have been as clear as I could possibly be that I will continue to serve in this job provided the BESE board wants me to say in this job,” White told Daily Report following his address to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge this afternoon. “This has been the greatest professional privilege of my life, and I’m interested in continuing the successes for Louisiana’s kids.”
White has held the state’s top education job since 2012, when he was appointed by BESE. Though he and Gov. Bobby Jindal were once allied on education policy for the state, the two had a high-profile falling out in 2014 over the state’s Common Core educational standards.
White’s position was safe, however, because of his allies on BESE, most notably, Roemer. But last week, Roemer announced he will not seek re-election to the board.
“I don’t think that will change things,” said White. “The BESE board is charged with choosing the superintendent, and I will work for the BESE board, provided they’ll have me.”
In his remarks to the Rotarians, White said the reform plan on which the Department of Education has been focused since 2012 is working and that the results speak for themselves:
- Since 2012, the state’s graduation rate has increased 4% to an all-time high
- In that same period, the number of graduates going to college has increased by 16%
- The 2015 graduating class registered the most progress of any senior class in Louisiana in ACT scores
- The 2015 class has 6,000 more students with college-worthy ACT scores than the 2012 class
White says the state has achieved those wins by following a five-pronged plan that is centered on higher standards for early learning centers, schools and teachers.
White applauded steps the Legislature took earlier this year to end the standoff over Common Core. He said the Legislature’s plan to have Louisiana educators review the standards and add some of their own questions to the test shows “an unprecedented and remarkable step of leadership.”
—Stephanie Riegel
