John Bel Edwards, David Vitter are ‘night and day’ on major education issues: vouchers, charter schools, grading system
Democrat John Bel Edwards and Republican David Vitter have radically different ideas on how to improve Louisiana’s public schools.
Edwards is a longtime ally of state teachers unions, which have bitterly opposed most of the sweeping school changes enacted since 2012.
Vitter, a U.S. senator from Metairie, generally favors the business model for overhauling schools, with lots of options just like those enacted three years ago.
Edwards is a critic of school vouchers, long denounced by traditional public school groups.
Vitter backs them, as does state Superintendent of Education John White and his allies on the other side of the pro-Edwards divide.
Vitter supports charter schools.
Edwards is a charter school critic, and he has tried unsuccessfully to restrict their growth.
Edwards opposed letter grades for public schools in 2010, and he says they present a false picture.
In a prepared statement, Vitter said Tuesday that the state’s grading system “provides transparency and accountability for the parents and schools” but should be expanded to include more than standardized test results.
In short, few issues feature a bigger split between the two contenders for governor in the Nov. 21 runoff.
“Night and day,” said Brigitte Nieland, who tracks public school issues for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
The split was downplayed during the primary, in part because Vitter and Edwards are both critics of the topic that gets most of the attention — Common Core.
But after that, the divide on public schools is long and wide.
Traditional public school groups, including the Louisiana Association of Educators and Louisiana Federation of Teachers, have teamed up with Edwards for years in the Legislature.
The Democrat helped lead the opposition to most of the school overhaul plan that Gov. Bobby Jindal got passed in 2012, including the expansion of vouchers statewide and tougher job reviews for teachers.
“He has been a consistent champion for public education,” LAE President Debbie Meaux said.
Meaux noted that, earlier this year, Edwards played a key role in landing a $36 million education hike on the final day of a budget-dominated session.
Steve Monaghan, president of the LFT, said Vitter in Congress has voted to cut federal education aid by billions of dollars, opposed a teacher loan forgiveness measure and blasted teachers who showed up at the State Capitol to testify on a school day in 2012.
“Never has there been a simpler decision for us,” Monaghan said of his group’s choice for governor.
On the other side, self-styled school reform groups view Edwards as mostly hostile to what they see as vital changes John Bel Edwards, David Vitter are ‘night and day’ on major education issues: vouchers, charter schools, grading system | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana: