White: Zachary’s decision to opt out of scholarship ‘based on false information’

Shortly after word broke today that Zachary Community School District would opt out of the state’s new school scholarship program and would not accept any students from other, less-successful school districts—beyond 30 kindergarten and first-grade students whom it had already agreed to take in—Louisiana Secretary of Education John White released a statement saying the school district’s decision is “based on false information.” “Scholarship students accepted by public schools ranked ‘A’ or ‘B’ bring with them their full MFP funding, a state average of $8,500, not $4,000, as was reported,” White says in a prepared statement, referring to an article in The Advocate that attributes the $4,000 figure to Zachary Superintendent Warren Drake, who cited finances as the reason the district was opting out. “The scholarship program is thus not only the right thing to do for ‘A and ‘B’ schools, but also a prudent financial decision. I urge Zachary and districts statewide to do the right thing for children and join the program.” The Zachary district is the lone one in the state with an ‘A’ rating and has been the highest-performing district in the state for seven straight years.