Can BESE Save White from Jindal? I’m Thinking… No.
John White’s job is on the line, and the primarily-purchased Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is standing behind its Common Core State Standards (CCSS)- and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)-promoting talking head.
For White’s annual evaluation, BESE gave him a 3 out of 4.
I’m thinking White’s BESE rating will not save him from the now-undeniable divide between White’s support for CCSS and PARCC and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s publicized change of position on the matter.
The April 15, 2014, nola.com article on White’s review notes that only BESE can fire White.
However, that does not mean that Jindal cannot get rid of White.
For starters, Louisiana lawmakers are considering legislation to make the state superintendency an elected position, not appointed by the governor and approved by BESE– and then shielded by BESE. If approved, election for the next superintendent would occur in 2015, effective 2016.
Second, in 2011, the BESE election was purchased in order to get White– who has less than five years of teaching experience– approved as state superintendent. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush assisted with this effort. Thus, if money could get White in, money can get him out.
Third– and this is the big one– Jindal does not play well with those who publicly