John Bel Edwards has not Taken Office and Already his Team has Made Some Major Missteps
I am not happy.
I’m actually quite pissed off and had to take extra blood pressure medication today to prevent my head from exploding off my shoulders. I think I am like a lot of people that supported John Bel Edwards for Governor for his stands on education, who got the shaft after the election.
Is John Bel making all the decisions on education committees and BESE picks?
Probably not.
Whomever is doing it however is doing a piss poor job.
I contacted Edward’s Facebook page, Onward Louisiana site, and a number of close contacts to inquire about his education agenda and to offer my help or input. I was ignored in some cases, and told to wait until after he takes office before brining my concerns or ideas so John Bel could tackle the budget crisis and his top priority, Medicare expansion. Doing so has proved to be a disastrous mistake on my part, compounded by horrible decisions by his education team.
While I was waiting numerous education reformers secured a seat at the various tables and parents and regular teachers who fought so hard and for so long were left walled out and cut off. Leslie Jacobs, Queen Reformer of Louisiana and Architect of the Recovery School Disaster was given a seat on a 53 member committee that included many union reps, and other reformers, but none of the folks that crossed party lines to vote for John Bel and for education. The list did include these folks however:
- Ronnie Briggs Board Chairman of The Good Shepherd School (“School Choice Champion”)
- Gwendolyn Hamilton Community Affairs, New Schools for Baton Rouge/CEO EBR Redevelopment Authority (unelected and unaccountable private Charter School Authorizer)
- Leslie Jacobs Former BESE Member (Queen of the Recovery School Disaster, John Bel Edwards has not Taken Office and Already his Team has Made Some Major Missteps | Crazy Crawfish:
