OUCH: E-Mail From Baton Rouge Area Chamber Escapes, Stir Ensues (Updated)
Last week a move by citizen activists in Southeast Baton Rouge to create a breakaway school district independent of the failed East Baton Rouge Parish school system along the lines of those created by the people of Zachary and Central fell just four votes short of passage in the House of Representatives (nine votes short when the bill was brought for a second vote on the floor).
Among the groups fighting against the bill was the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.
It was puzzling why BRAC would take a position on the bill, a public policy argument which was not directly related to the question of economic development and the effect of which would not have been demonstrable one way or another. BRAC touted a study in progress by LSU professor Jim Richardson on the creation of a
Analysis: Ruston school raises new voucher concern
BATON ROUGE — The New Living Word School probably wasn't the poster child Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration wanted for its new statewide voucher program.
The Ruston church-affiliated school has gotten widespread attention at the Capitol because of its plan to more than triple its enrollment by adding voucher students while raising tuition costs on the state's dime, though it's questionable whether the school has the immediate capability to handle such growth.
It's been a public relations nightmare for Superintendent of Education John White, and it has left even supporters of the voucher program that was pushed by the Republican governor publicly questioning whether enough safeguards were added to the program that will use tax dollars to send children to private and parochial schools.
Critics of the voucher program saw the example of the New Living Word School as new ammunition against a program that expands statewide for the upcoming school year.
But the attention generated by the school's plans could highlight potential loopholes and areas of concern, as education officials