New group enters fray on future of EBR school system. Seeks new legislation.

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The Committee For Progress

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usually a sign to dismiss them out of hand when "for progress" appears in the name.

LSUrussianSTGeorgeSpoutingLiberalPropagandaAndNotEvenRealizingIt;dr

If this actually happens, you can thank the St George movement and the fear that it put into Baton Rouge for forcing people to take notice of the problems with the public schools and desires of at least some of the parents who have to deal with them. It's a shame that it took an incorporation drive to really out a spot light on the issue- after two years of trying without incorporation and many years of attempting to work with a terrible school board.

Just because other urban areas have a craptastic school system doesn't mean you have to.

The ideal solution is for a good school district to exist without incorporation for all of EBR. If it can't happen without incorporation, then I urge people to do what is best for themselves and either incorporate or vote with your feet and move to the suburban parishes. Middle class neighborhoods without good schools have a very short shelf life. This can't wait much longer.

Good public schools are at least as critical to the long term viability of East Baton Rouge as a solid downtown core or public transit. It should be a priority for everyone in parish government - especially those in a position of leadership.

It's time to stop relentlessly attacking people for looking after their own communities and at least try to work with then to solve the problems they are concerned with....and that's public education.

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i don't understand wat y'all are saying about progress. wouldn't a progressive be against what they're doing?

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You're right, of course.

The St Georgeista's claim they want change in the education system in EBR, but only if it's their idea.

Anyone else who actually proposes the changes they are asking for is just dismissed. Ignorance personified.....

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Anyone else who actually proposes the changes they are asking for is just dismissed. Ignorance personified.....

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The sad fact that I think everyone knows but doesn't want to admit - but which is evident from the St. George movement and the cynical responses to this thread - is that a lot of folks don't want to fix the EBR public school system.

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The sad fact that I think everyone knows but doesn't want to admit - but which is evident from the St. George movement and the cynical responses to this thread - is that a lot of folks don't want to fix the EBR public school system.

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Have you followed the EBR school saga for very long?

If you have you'd know people have been trying to fix the system for decades now.

First it was the Federal people along with the Federal judge who really fixed things.

After that good government types, and the community got together and worked for a better school system

this resulted in a big tax measure passing that funded teacher pay raises, school improvements, and a very large capital campaign to add school, add onto schools, and to remodel older schools.

Subsequent to these efforts the Feds got out of the way and a consent degree put the school system back into local control.

Baker, Zachary and then Central weren't satisfied with any of this and pulled out of the system and formed their own systems.

Recently the state has become more involved taking over failing schools. Jindal and his people have made a big push in that department.

The problem is we've had school board after school board and supt. after supt. make promises to make the EBR system a good system; these promises have fallen short of people's expectations.

Now I'm not here to tell you some things aren't better because there are bright spots. BRHS magnet and other magnet and gifted programs are excellent. There are also some excellent schools inside the system besides BRHS. But overall progress has been slow and people still believe that because of politics and tenure we still don't have enough good teachers and principals and that not enough schools are rated average or above average.

The group Russian posted about obviously cares as have other groups including the SG group. If they didn't care we wouldn't be where we are today, discussing education and ways to make the schools better. We wouldn't have voted higher taxes to fund better schools. We wouldn't be going back and forth on a typewriter if we didn't care.

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Only since the deseg suit was settled has local control been in effect.

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So the Federal people weren't people??

They tried to fix the system in the 60s and 70s when Jim Crow was running it, remember?

Before they jumped in, we had full local control. It was great for me and others; however, we all know our black friends were getting the shaft time 100.

Sure the local people lost control, they wouldn't follow the law, and even when the Feds stepped in they fought tooth and nail to keep the old ways.

And fast forward to more recent times, even before the Feds got out of the way local citizens like myself and other supported and helped a huge school tax issue pass which finally provided funds to the school system that the school board said was desperately needed to help educate our children. Locals led this effort and it was responsible for the new and improved schools we see today as well as teacher pay raises, etc.

You want people to think nothing happened for decades and only a few years ago people became concerned. That can't be further from the truth.

People have been concerned about education and that's why systems like Baker, Zachary and Central were formed.

If you had any integrity at all, you'd quit running down SG folks, you'd listen to them, you'd debate them on the issues and stop painting them as crooks, racists, and malcontents because most of them are not.

But your behavior is clear, you won't stop. You'll keep calling SG names and infer that somehow you and your buddies in the city are intellectually superior and know all the answers.

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is that a lot of folks don't want to fix the EBR public school system.

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They're called the Teacher's Union and the Parish School Board.

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This is the MAPP guy, right?

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Yes.

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Wasn't MAPP involved in a contract award dispute over Central's new school complex?

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I googled and couldn't find anything on that. Can you?