JOHN BEL EDWARDS SWORN IN AS LOUISIANA’S 56TH GOVERNOR; LAE MEMBERS PARTAKE IN INAUGURATION DAY FESTIVITIES
On January 11, 2016, LAE leaders and member activists took part in a significant moment in Louisiana’s history when they attended the inauguration ceremony for the state’s 56th Governor, the honorable John Bel Edwards. Nearly 50 members gathered in Baton Rouge and loaded buses led by a state police escort to attend the swearing-in of Governor Edwards. Thousands of Louisianans assembled at the state capitol to take in the festivities on the crisp, sunny January day.
In his speech, Governor Edwards called upon Louisiana citizens and members of the legislature to work together to embark on the hard work ahead.
“Now is the time for full participation. I’m calling on the legislature to work with me and pass sound solutions; and I’m calling on the people of Louisiana to constructively engage and share your thoughts and ideas. It will be hard work, and yes, it will take sacrifice, but it can be done and it must be done,” Edwards said.
“You can expect the unvarnished truth from this administration regarding the challenges we face, the solutions we propose, and the opportunities we seek. The breeze of hope that got us here today will also drive a current of change as mighty as the Mississippi, but this river can’t flow unless the breeze continues. We must put action before idleness, unity before party, and citizenship before self, in order to put Louisiana first.”
LAE members wrapped up the day’s festivities by attending a ball in honor of Governor Edwards. Dressed in their finest, those in attendance took the opportunity to network with state dignitaries and local officials. Many said the day’s events left them with a sense of encouragement.
“I am so proud to be a part of an organization that provides me with opportunities like this,” said St. Mary Association of Educators President Sherry Thompson. “I enjoyed getting to spend time with fellow LAE colleagues and others who truly have the drive to make a difference for the educators, schools, and students of Louisiana.”
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
Debbie Meaux, President
Over the next few months, I will once again visit several cities across the state asking education employees, parents, and community members one question: What immediate actions need to be taken in order to ensure that every Louisiana community has the public schools it deserves?
These travels are part of the NEA’s nationwide Ask an Educator campaign, where I, along with other state presidents and NEA President Lily Eskelsen-Garcia, visit with public school employees in an effort to foster discussions among educators and community members.
Last year, I visited Ouachita, Jeff Davis, and Vermilion parishes, where I made stops at several public schools and spent time with parents and other community leaders. In my discussions, I heard a number of concerns — everything from pay issues to dissatisfaction with class sizes to concerns about too little preparation and too few resources allocated to getting students ready for the PARCC tests. I spoke with educators about the redundancy in required training for certified, university-trained Pre-K teachers. I also heard about the dire need for smaller class sizes and the importance of having paraprofessionals in elementary school classrooms. I heard stories of how support professionals were living with below-poverty wages and dealing with a lack of materials needed to perform their jobs. I learned more about how schools are understaffed, causing custodians to have to do more than their fair share of the work needed to maintain safe and sanitary facilities. A major concern for many employees, both certified and uncertified, was keeping our schools violence free. I brought these concerns to Superintendent John White and other BESE members who promised to take a look at these problems in order to determine what actions are needed to alleviate the stresses caused by these issues.
The LAE also used the feedback gathered from the listening tour discussions to inform the association’s agenda for the 2015 Legislative Session; we plan to do the same with any insights gathered from this year’s travels.
As the 2016 Louisiana Legislative Session approaches, I hope you will watch your email closely–as well as your local, state, and national publications–for any callto-action alerts asking you to contact your legislators and congressional representatives. Though we now have a friendly face in the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion, LAE must still fight to bring much needed changes in education practice and policy as we face a reform-friendly BESE and legislature. LAE is in the process of putting together legislation surrounding changes to teacher evaluations, due process, and charter school transparency and accountability.
There is truly power in numbers. Legislators, members of the BESE, and other advisory committee members do listen when large numbers of public school employees unite to carry a single message. Never doubt our power to influence our own fate, especially now that we have a governor who values the opinions of educators. Once again, I thank you for your commitment to Louisiana’s children. I look forward to working with you in the coming months as we continue our advocacy efforts for our public schools, teachers, support professionals, and students. Stay motivated and strong! Your hard work does not go unnoticed!
In Solidarity,
Debbie Meaux
A NEW DAY, A NEW GOVERNOR: WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2016
By: LAE Legislative & Political Director Shane Riddle
As we begin 2016, it is very evident that the Louisiana political environment has recently experienced a significant shake-up. U.S. Senator David Vitter’s loss to Louisiana Representative John Bel Edwards in the governor’s race set major changes into motion. For the first time in a long time, Louisiana will be led by a democrat. The LAE was intricately involved in the effort to elect John Bel Edwards, but that’s not to say it’s going to be a walk in the park for the next four years. Even though the governor has an enormous amount of power to wield, the current structure of the legislature will present major challenges to the new administration. There is much work to be done and we need our troops – LAE members – on board now, more than ever before, to move us to a more promising future.
LAE leaders, lobbyists, and member activists have been extremely successful in developing solid, bipartisan relationships with members of both parties in both chambers of the legislature. We must continue to nurture these relationships - in addition to establishing new ones - with legislative leaders who truly stand to help us promote pro-teacher, pro-student, pro-public education initiatives. This task will be crucial in order to face the daunting challenges ahead in the 2016 Legislative Session. In our hands, we hold the power to create positive change in the educational environments of all K-12 public school students. We must focus on strengthening our organization by being the bold voice of the public school employee. We need more members joining us in support of this cause. We must also continue our focus of building stronger bonds with parents, community organizations, and other labor organizations who believe in the value of public education.
Since 2008, the Jindal administration forwarded an aggressive education agenda that favored vouchers and other alternatives to public education while shackling public schools with more testing, not to mention a department of education that asserts control over local school systems and weakens the working conditions of our committed teachers and other dedicated school employees.
While the Jindal era proved challenging, the LAE was able to thwart many of the measures that would have been crippling to public schools. We fought for and prevailed in the case ruling vouchers unconstitutional. We were key players in calling for a comprehensive review of the Common Core State Standards. We had seats at the table and voiced your concerns to a committee of educators reviewing the validity and reliability of the flawed teacher evaluation system and the “value-added” model. We lobbied lawmakers to implement and preserve education funding increases through the Minimum Foundation Program – a rise that contributed to increasing teacher salaries and benefits. We always have and continue to advocate for support professional pay increases. Teachers are now given fairer due process for disciplinary and dismissal hearings. None of these efforts would have been successful if not for the hard work of LAE leaders and member activists.
This year will be paramount compared to years past. The state faces a $750 million shortfall in the current year and a $1.9 billion shortfall predicted for fiscal year of 2017. We can expect the powerful forces of corporate reform to continue an all-out assault on public education, which will most likely include continued efforts to take away our right to deduct our association dues directly from our paychecks, as well as attempts to gut public employee pensions in order to balance the state’s deficit.
Governor Edwards recently called a special session in order to address the massive budget woes left behind by the Jindal Administration. A recent report released by the governor’s budget transition team made it very clear that the state can no longer cut its way out of the current fiscal crisis. The report presents options for reforming several parts of the state’s tax and fiscal structure to decrease its complexity, taxpayer inequities, and the inability of the governor and the legislature to effectively respond to financial downturns. Just a week after taking office, Governor Edwards outlined the following solutions for stabilizing Louisiana’s budget: 1.) utilize the state’s Rainy Day Fund; 2.) redirect non-coastal dollars from the first year of BP oil spill payments to the state; 3.) cut at least 10 percent from $1.6 billion in discretionary state funds that are dedicated to certain uses in statute, but not constitutionally protected; and 4.) add an additional one-cent to the existing four-cent state sales tax, excluding the purchase of groceries, prescription drugs, and residential utilities. Options to shore up the budget shortfall for the fiscal year of 2017 include changes to the income tax brackets in Louisiana, cuts in the percentage of federal excess itemized deductions Louisiana taxpayers can deduct on their state tax returns, and a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the deduction for federal income taxes paid in exchange for lowering individual and corporate tax rates. Other options include raising the tobacco tax to $1.08 per pack of cigarettes, reducing tax credits, and other changes to the way corporations and businesses are taxed. In addition, Governor Edwards has directed each member of his cabinet to submit proposals for budget reductions based on a minimum 10 percent reduction, as well as a budget that would reflect the current financial conditions without additional revenue.
LAE’s legislative agenda for the upcoming 2016 Legislative Session will focus on increasing accountability and transparency for charter schools, improving the teacher evaluation system (Act 54), cleaning up language on due process disciplinary hearing procedures, continued advocacy for high learning standards developed by Louisiana teachers, and working to sustain salary increases for teachers and education support professionals. The LAE Legislative Committee will work to prepare draft LAE policy priorities for presentation to the LAE Board of Trustees. Please stay tuned for updates on these and all of LAE’s upcoming initiatives at lae.org.
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