“The Scholarship Program will continue…and we will work with the Legislature to find another funding source to keep parents and kids in these schools.”
—State Superintendent of Education John White, in a prepared statement in response to the Louisiana Supreme Court’s 6-1 decision that using funds from the Minimum Foundation Program to fund vouchers for private and virtual schools is unconstitutional.
“Diverting dollars from our already struggling school districts to private school vouchers for a select few students is wrong.”
—State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson (D-New Orleans), state chairperson of the Louisiana Democratic Party, commenting on the State Supreme Court’s decision that taking MFP funds to finance vouchers is unconstitutional.
“This decision was not only predictable, but it was predicted. The governor appeared to have complete disdain for the law while he was chasing a vice presidential nomination.”
—State Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite), commenting on Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision on voucher financing.
Louisiana Voice 
Lots of luck with that, Mr. White.
Another funding source, indeed? It’s the same funding source, different name, perhaps Mr White can change the title, but simply stated, paid for by the LA taxpayers. It’s the same hog trough, they gather to snort, cuddle, eat, and leave their voids behind. It is called the taxpayers diversion of funds, in the name of education privatization.
Thank you, Lord, for judges that understand the term “unconstitutional”. Course Choice is now in the bull’s eye, and I’m hoping the La. Supreme Court hits the center of the target again!!! Of course, we’ll never regain the squandered money, and it will take a decade to fix what they have destroyed in the public school system in just one year. History does repeat itself-that’s what happened when the carpetbaggers came to the South 140 years ago.
My fear is that the funding source will be the universities. There is only six weeks left is this fiscal year to suck up $30 to $50 million.
Is there another health clinic or two to shutter, Jindal and White have to be asking themselves. Poor people make no noise.
Sadly true. š¦
John White is in Washington presumably looking for his next gig.
Can’t be soon enough!
Mr. White, are we to believe, even at this late date, that you CARE that much?
@mctrucker, that’s their problem! Just because a person is poor doesn’t make them illiterate or uneducated! But it is in the best interest of our State, that the Rhode Scholar and his minions believe that about poor people. Now we can fully understand that money and power can be given or taken away by whomever power we serve! Representative John Bel Edwards puts it all into perspective, when he says it was predicted and that the motivation was the Governor’s pursuit for higher political gain.
We (as the people) also need to get over the idea of education (in and of itself) as being a panacea for all. That ‘god’ of education was erected by Huey and needs to be toppled and smashed.
No it doesnt. It needs to go back to teaching people how to think for themselves! Not teaching a bunch of useless facts thats mean nothing if you dont know how to reason, think, and solve problems.
Teachers should be teaching students how to think, learn, prepare for what’s ahead, not what the test score on the next upcoming state test ranking should be. When you cut education spending, you discourage dreams of better life, jobs. Where do you draw the line in the sand? Who is entitled to education? It’s always about politics and money. When you can send billions of dollars overseas to rebuild hospitals, schools, why not our own?