When Buddy Roemer was running for governor back in 1987, he promised metaphorically to “board up the top three floors of the Louisiana Department of Education.”
With John White, aka Bea Curtis (I’ll explain that momentarily) running the department, that may be more literal today than that rhetorical pledge of more than 30 years ago as he seems to prefer employees who telecommute to those who actually show up for work.
Not only does White encourage telecommuting, which in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing, but he appears to carry the concept to the extreme—as in from coast to coast.
Back on May 31, I wrote about our old buddy LEFTY LEFKOWITH, who is paid $99,999.90 per year to work from his home in Los Angeles. He comes in a dime under the $100,000 threshold at which state employees are required to be residents of….well, the state.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did interpret one of his mileage reports incorrectly, reporting that he rented a car from Enterprise in Los Angeles. Technically, he did reserve the car from that city, but didn’t pick it up until he arrived at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. I mistakenly said he drove the car from Los Angeles. He did not. He did, however, submit an expense voucher and was paid $50.49 by LDOE for mileage driven in a rental car.
And there’re always those primed and ready to catch such errors. Bea Curtis was quick to post a lengthy comment on that blog post, calling attention to “half-baked” information that I wrote. Of the more interesting remarks by Bea, there was this:
Slow news day? I think not: there’s been plenty happening in the legislature during these last three sessions to provide more than enough fodder for a sleepy little blog. Stories just waiting to be told about Representatives standing defensively on the House floor encouraging non-profits to break the law with illegal lobbying practices, and Senators who publicly announce that they no longer serve at the will of the people… Ya know, important things that people care about.
Sleepy little blog? I love that! Bea’s was an accurate enough statement except for a couple of important observations:
- First, Bea’s comments were so knowledgeable about Lefty they could only have come from someone deeply embedded within the Department of Education who knows procedures, grants, expense reports, and miles traveled by Lefty while carrying out his duties on those rare occasions that he bothers to visit Louisiana.
- Second, a check with the Louisiana Department of Civil Service revealed there is not now, nor has there ever been an employee named Bea Curtis in the Department of Education—or any other state agency.
Conclusion: Since it would have taken someone with intimate knowledge of Lefty’s duties and since there’s no such person in LDOE as Bea Curtis, Bea Curtis, in fact, has to be John White. But John couldn’t very well afford to go public with such caustic comments certain to antagonize legislators, could he? Thus, the pseudonym. (Oops. That’s gonna piss off some legislators.)
But all that aside, LouisianaVoice has recently learned that John White has broadened his telecommuting from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Lindsey Mingo is an Education Program Consultant 4 and does her work from Boston, of all places.
She started with the department just a year ago, on June 26, 2017, at $68,000 and at the end of his six-month probationary period, got a raise to $69,400.
Boston?
Boston.
Guess there’s no one in Louisiana qualified to do that job, either.
Finally, I would make this request of Bea Curtis:
If you respond again, please send a copy of your driver’s license (with your driver’s license number redacted, of course). It’s my way of carding certain people who comment so that I know you’re who you say you are.
Not to dispute anything here, it is important to note that Massachusetts typically ranks at the top in the same things Louisiana ranks at the bottom of among the states. Last year Massachusetts was #1 in the U. S. News and World Reports “Best States” ranking with academic achievement, innovative health care system, and strong economy among the reasons. So, maybe our state’s education system could be better run from Boston than Baton Rouge.
The best states value and nurture the things that make their citizens’ lives better – and they pay for them. We expect mediocrity and we get what we pay for.
We must also consider the possibility that Massachusetts did not consider Lindsey Mingo worthy of employment which more likely explains their presence on the Louisiana payroll. Just a thought.
Another possibility might be that she is also on the payroll in Massachusetts and, perhaps, even elsewhere.
I suspect we are also not Lefty’s only clients.
😂
I am a 15 year public teacher in Louisiana. I have been in Massachusetts for a couple of weeks and will stay until near the end of July. My wife and I have friends that are teachers up here and we are staying with them. We have a group of five that are teachers in Massachusetts public school system. I have not heard any complaints about teaching here. The state values education and all 5 have masters degrees and they are also halfway towards earning a doctorate. (plus 30 so far) The state paid for most of their coursework and each time they are given a real raise. Louisiana may give you $1000 if you earn a masters degree. The difference between a masters degree with 15 years of experience is around $1200 in my parish and if I taught in Massachusetts the difference is $20,000. In Louisiana I make $53,500 with 15 years experience and a masters, and in Massachusetts I would make $81,451. I understand cost of living is different, however the value Massachusetts places on education is much greater than in Louisiana. I could go on about all the differences, but not sure who doesn’t understand the difference between the two states. We have traveled here a few times, mainly due to the milder climate here in the summer and visiting friends.
Education consultants make a lot of money, bet Mingo is connected to the VOS/Putin empire via Jindal. I’ll check when I am in Boston next week, someone will know in my favorite Irish Bar. ron Thompson (tom going to see Bob McCardle, who summers in Kennebunkport, )
Bea Curtis is either John White or Erin Bendily (assist superintendent for governmental affairs). In fact, Bendily handles a lot of White’s dirty deeds.
Working from home has taken on a whole new level under White’s leadership. Several people work from their homes either around Louisiana or the US. Lots work from New Orleans. Not even in Benson Towers, but from their actual residence. They were told that no one would
ever know. Kunjan Narechania, also based in New Orleans, is an asst superintendent in Baton Rouge, but also runs the Recovery Schools there. C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N!