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Feeding time for Department of Education online courses for Jindal’s Student Scholarships for Educatonal Excellence Act

August 22, 2012 by tomaswell

And so it came to pass that LouisianaVoice’s June 20 story about course providers as allowed by HB 976 (Act 2) of this year’s regular legislative session is playing out precisely as we said it would: the hogs are already bellying up to the buffet.

Course providers, you may recall, are the new kids on the education block who are crowding in for their slice of education funds pie by teaching virtual classes online. They don’t have classrooms but at least there’s no bus for students to catch.

The early submission deadline for potential course providers was Aug. 17 and the early Department of Education (DOE) review to accept, defer or reject applicants is Sept. 14. The interview of applicants who have been tentatively approved will begin on Sept. 18 and DOE is scheduled to post the accepted applications online by Sept. 28.

There were 25 applicants as of Tuesday, Aug. 21, according to documents provided by DOE.

The Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Act, as HB 976 is officially known, directs the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to create a “reciprocal teacher certification process” for teachers who reside in other states by next January.

Under terms of the act, postsecondary education institutions may serve as quality course providers for students who seek advanced level course work or technical or vocational instruction. Because “technical” and “vocational” were included in the bill’s language, that could mean that “postsecondary education institutions” would include not only traditional universities and colleges, but individuals, vocational and technical schools and proprietary schools.

But the bill goes on to specify that business and industry may also serve as “quality course providers that offer course work in their particular field of expertise.”

Courses would be available to students attending a public school that receives a letter grade of “C,” “D,” or “R,” or who is attending a public school that does not offer the course in which a student desires to enroll, the act says.

The 25 applicants and courses offered include:

• ATS Project Success, Clinton Township, Michigan (K-12 online, English/language arts, math, science, social studies);

• McKinney Byrd Academy, Shreveport (high school, career and technical education/apprentice (CTE) program, business tech and computer apps, hospitality, early childhood, urban farming/landscaping and hair care techniques);

• Lincoln National Academy, Dallas (high school core and elective courses including career and technical education courses);

• Pelican Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors, Baton Rouge and Westlake (online, face-to-face courses in carpentry, electrical, instrumentation, heavy equipment, millwright, mobile crane, pipefitting, welding);

• Work Ready Education and Career Services, Philadelphia, PA. (comprehensive core curriculum and career and technical education courses);

• Plato Learning, Bloomington, MN. (K-12, CTE, advanced placement (AP), full curriculum of courses);

• iSpace Educational Services, dba iSpace, Inc., of Princeton, N.J. (grades 3-6);

• Louisiana Education Television Authority/Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Baton Rouge (AP, French I and II, Spanish I and II, Fine Arts Survey and Environmental Science);

• Bayard Management Group, Slidell (face to face, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Livingston, St. Tammany, Orleans, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes);

• JRL Enterprises, New Orleans (online K-12);

• Educational Bedrock, Inc., Baton Rouge (corporate/industry, East Baton Rouge, Baker, Zachary, St. Helena—math, engineering prep and internships in welding, carpentry, electrical, auto technology, pharmacy, cosmetology, dental assistant);

• Princeton Review, Farmington, MA, not affiliated with Princeton University (ACT prep);

• Cyber Innovation Center, Bossier City (variety of innovative Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education (STEM) courses);

• Multiple Teaching Systems, Baton Rouge (K-8 curriculum);

• Scholar Apprentice Tutoring, Baton Rouge (array of career and technical education offerings);

• Sylvan Learning (ACT and AP tutoring, credit recovery courses);

• K12, Herndon, VA. (comprehensive high school academic offerings, including AP course offerings);

• EducateMe, Fairfield NJ (education software for schools);

• Florida Virtual School, Orlando, FL (“extremely broad” array of core curriculum and AP course offerings);

• Apex Learning, Mandeville (headquarters Seattle, WA) (“very extensive” array of core curriculum courses);

• Southern University, Baton Rouge (“very broad array” of academic and elective courses, middle school through college credit);

• Head First, North Miami Beach, FL (broad array of academic and career and technical education courses);

• mSchool, no address (grade 6-12 math curricula);

• Gerald “Jude” Dubois, Vermilion Parish educational entrepreneur (math);

• Connections Education, Baltimore, MD (three applications covering AP offerings across a number of academic subjects and core curriculum course offerings).

HB 976 contains an extra incentive to attract online course providers: “The course provider shall receive a course amount for each eligible funded student” at an amount equal to the market rate “as determined by the course provider” and reported to DOE.

Simply stated, course providers are given carte blanche to set their own rates.

And to hedge their bets, some providers took the added precaution of greasing skids in the form of campaign contributions. Here are a few of those:

Pelican Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors:

• Rep. Neil Abramson (D-New Orleans)—$2500;

• BESE member Holly Boffy—$5000;

• Rep. Stephen Carter (R-Baton Rouge)—$10,000;

• Rep. Simone Champagne (R-Erath)—$2250;

• Sen. Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge)—$500;

• Sen. A.G. Crowe (R-Slidell)—$1000;

• Former Sen. Ann Duplessis (D-New Orleans)—$3000;

• Former Rep. Noble Ellington (R-Winnsboro)—$3500;

• Sen. Dale Erdy (R-Livingston)—$500;

• Rep. Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro)—$500;

• Rep. Franklin Foil (R-Baton Rouge)—$2250;

• BESE member James Garvey—$5000;

• Rep. Ray Garofalo, Jr. (R-Chalmette)—$5000;

• Rep. Hunter Greene (R-Baton Rouge)—$1000;

• Former Sen. Nick Gautreaux (D-Meaux)—$500;

• Rep. Mickey Guillory (D-Eunice)—$2500;

• BESE member Jay Guillot (R-Ruston)—$5000;

• Former Rep. Ricky Hardy (D-Lafayette)—2500;

• Rep. Kenneth Havard (R-Jackson)—$2500;

• Rep. Lowell Hazel (R-Pineville)—$2500;

• BESE member Carolyn Hill—$5000;

• Rep. Valarie Hodges (R-Denham Springs)—$2500;

• Rep. Frank Hoffman (R-West Monroe)—$2250;

• Rep. Dalton Honoré (D-Baton Rouge)—2250;

• Former Rep. Michael Jackson (D-Baton Rouge)—2500;

• House Speaker Chuck Kleckley (R-Lake Charles)—$500;

• Sen. Robert Kostelka (R-Monroe)—$500;

• Rep. Anthony Ligi (R-Metairie)—$3500;

• Sen. Gerald Long (R-Natchitoches)—2500;

• Former Rep. Nickie Monica (R-LaPlace)—1000;

• Former Rep. Rickey Nowlin (R-Natchitoches)—$1750;

• BESE member Kira Orange Jones—$10,000;

• Sen. Jonathan Perry (R-Kaplan)—2250;

• Former Rep. Clifton Richardson (R-Greenwell Springs)—$2500;

• Sen. Neil Riser (R-Columbia)—$500;

• Rep. Joel Robideaux (R-Lafayette)—$2250;

• BESE member Chas Roemer—$10,000;

• Former Sen. Craig Romero (R-New Iberia)—$500;

• Former Rep. Errol Romero (D-New Iberia)—$500;

• Rep. Clay Schexnayder (R-Sorrento)—$2500;

• Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport)—$2500;

• Former Rep. Mert Smiley (R-St. Amant)—$500;

• Rep. Patricia Smith (D-Baton Rouge)—$2500;

• Sen. Richard Ward (D-Port Allen)—1000;

• Sen. Robert Adley (R-Benton)—$500;

Cyber Innovations officers:

• Rep. Henry Burns (R-Haughton)—$500;

• Former Rep. Jane Smith (R-Bossier City)—$500;

• Gov. Piyush Jindal—$1000;

Sylvan Learning Center officers:

• Gov. Piyush Jindal—$1000;

K12:

• Sen. President John Alario (R-Westwego)—$500;

• BESE member Holly Boffy—$1000;

• Sen. Dan Claitor—$500;

• Sen. Jean-Paul Morrell (D-New Orleans)—$500;

• House Speaker Kleckley—$500;

• Gov. Jindal—$5000;

• Rep. Walt Leger, III (D-New Orleans)—$500;

• Rep. Daniel Martiny (R-Metairie)—$500;

• Sen. Jonathan Perry—$500;

• South PAC, East PAC, North PAC and West PAC—$10,000;

JRL Enterprises:

• Gov. Jindal—$5000;

iSpace:

• Sen. A.G. Crowe—$1500;

• Gov. Jindal—$3200.

Posted in BESE, Campaign Contributions, Charters, Computers, Education, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Privatization, Vouchers | 7 Comments »

When the apple falls far, far from the tree: Buddy Roemer on campaign reform, son Chas Roemer on big $ politics as usual

August 21, 2012 by tomaswell

Editor’s Note: LouisianaVoice occasionally runs guest columns that address Louisiana politics. Today’s column was written by Les Landon, director of public relations for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

Former U.S. Congressman and Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer recently dropped his long-shot presidential aspiration to tackle an even more daunting goal: reforming our corrupt campaign finance practices.

Gov. Roemer even appeared before Congress last month to testify about the malign effects of unfettered campaign contributions on our political system. At a hearing entitled “Taking Back Our Democracy: Responding to Citizens United and the Rise of Super PACs,” Roemer complained that “Our institutional corruption places our elections in the hands of the mega contributors.”

Taking his argument just a bit further, the former governor said “The system is not broke … It’s bought.”

The theme of Roemer’s testimony, according to this article by Advocate Washington Bureau Chief Jordan Blum, was “the need to enact campaign finance reform and rein in runaway corporate spending in elections.”

It is a message apparently lost on his politically ambitious son, Chas, and other members of the state board of education who have thrown in with Gov. Bobby Jindal’s radical education agenda.

According to campaign finance reports, Chas Roemer was the beneficiary of $597,142.15 during last fall’s campaign for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The bulk of Chas’ contributions, more than $248,000, came from the Republican Party of Louisiana.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, through its network of PACS, put $87,500 into the Roemer campaign.

The ABC Pelican PAC, the political arm of the Associated Builders and Contractors, contributed $20,000 to Chas’ campaign.

Gov. Jindal himself donated $15,000 to Roemer’s campaign.

The Standard Companies of New Orleans, a beverage company subsidiary of DS Waters of America, put up $14,000.

Publishing magnate Rolf McCollister gave Roemer $6,000, on top of invaluable column inches in his newspaper.

From its offices in Virginia, the pro-voucher Louisiana Federation of Children’s PAC sent another $6,000.

Roemer’s closest competitor, former Ascension Parish Superintendent of Schools Superintendent Donald Songy, raised a total of $56,660 for the race (full disclosure: the Louisiana Federation of Teachers contributed less than $6,000 to Songy’s campaign).

Given that disparity in resources – nearly $600,000 versus less than $57,000 – Roemer was able to mount a very effective, and very negative, multi-media campaign that overwhelmed Songy.

Roemer was not the only candidate blessed by Jindal and his big business friends. Candidates allied with the governor amassed contributions of more than $2.8 million. Even New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg got into the act, donating $55,000 to Jindal’s candidates. The closest competitors to the Jindal ticket raised a combined total of less than $348,000.

The money fueled a tsunami of advertising that had never been seen in BESE races, guaranteeing a victory for Gov. Jindal’s forces.

The immediate result of the election was the anointing of John White as superintendent, followed by a BESE kowtow to whatever privatization scheme the governor proposes. Which, as blogger Mike Deshotels writes here, means that hundreds of millions of dollars will soon be siphoned away from public schools into the pockets of “course choice providers” linked to big business.

Buddy Roemer is right. Big money donors and their unlimited contributions are the major corrupting factors in American politics.

When will he tell Chas?

Posted in BESE, Campaign Contributions, Education, Ethics, Governor's Office, Lobbyist, Louisiana Purchase, Politicians, Public Records, Transparency | 3 Comments »

Need a high interest payday loan? Louisiana has over 2,000 storefront outlets: π-yush and other pols got theirs at no cost

August 20, 2012 by tomaswell

You’ve seen them mostly in the seedier parts of town, those quickie payday loan storefront operations that specialize in small, short-term, high-interest loans against a customer’s next paycheck. Their clientele consists mainly of the working poor who, for whatever reason, can’t quite make that last paycheck stretch to the next one.

Louisiana has 18.7 percent of its families living below the poverty line, third-highest in the country. The state also ranked third in the nation in the percentage of households earning less than $35,000 (33.3 percent).

Not surprisingly, Louisiana has the fifth-highest payday loan usage rate in the nation at 10 percent.

Louisiana allows lenders to charge annual rates of up to 567 percent for a two-week, $100 payday loan. Most borrowers do not understand the true cost of the loans and use them for recurring expenses rather than one-time uses.

Incredibly, of the nine states with the most payday lending in the U.S. Louisiana, with 2,059, had the highest number of payday lending storefronts.

Texas, ranked ninth in payday loan usage at 8 percent, has 1800 payday lending storefronts and Missouri has 1,275. The next highest number of payday loan outlets was 781 in Kentucky.

The rankings of the nine states with the highest percentage of payday storefront activity, in order, are Oklahoma, Missouri, Washington, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas.

About 120 million payday loans, with an average interest rate of 455 percent, are made in the U.S. to low-income customers each year. The Center for Responsible Lending found that 76 percent of the $3.5 billion payday loan volume comes from “churning,” which is repeat borrowing by customers who paid off their loans but because of high interest rates, are forced to borrow again before their next paycheck.

Many of the payday lenders, who are financed by the nation’s larger banking institutions, have upped the ante in lobbying and campaign donations in response to the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) which is attempting to pass more rigorous regulations the industry.

So it should come as no surprise that recipients of the biggest campaign donations from the payday loan industry are Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee and Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama), chairman of the House Financial Service Committee, and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee.

In April, all that lobbying and financial investment in the legislative process paid huge dividends when the House Financial Services Committee voted to gut the CFPB budget.

But those are not the only beneficiaries of the payday loan industry’s largesse.

Louisiana got in on the action in a big way.

Cash America of Fort Worth (with five convenient locations in Baton Rouge) contributed $38,500 to 17 legislators and former legislators, a mayor, the Louisiana Republican Party and Gov. Piyush Jindal. And that’s just in Louisiana. Nationwide, Cash America has spent $707,000 on political campaign contributions in the first seven months of this year alone.

The breakdown of Louisiana contributions by Cash America is as follows:

• Gov. Piyush Jindal: $7500;

• Senate President John Alario (R-Westwego): $1500;

• Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie): $500;

• Rep. Jeff Arnold (D-New Orleans): $1000;

• Sen. Norbert Chabert (R-Houma): $500;

• Former Sen. Joel Chaisson (D-Destrehan), now St. Charles Parish District Attorney: $500;

• Sen. A.G. Crowe (R-Slidell): $1500;

• Former Sen. Ann Duplessis (D-New Orleans): $1500;

• Former Sen. Nick Gautreaux (D-Meaux): $1000;

• Sen. David Heitmeier (D-New Orleans): $500;

• House Speaker Chuck Kleckley (R-Lake Charles): $1000;

• Rep. Joseph Lopinto (R-Metairie): $500;

• Former Sen. Rob Marionneaux (D-Livonia): $500;

• Sen. Daniel Martiny (R-Metairie): $1500;

• Former Sen. Mike Michot (R-Lafayette): $3000;

• Sen. John Smith (R-Leesville): $500;

• Sen. Francis Thompson (D-Delhi): $500;

• Former House Speaker Jim Tucker (R-River Ridge): $500;

• Mayor Cedric Glover (D-Shreveport): $5000;

• The Louisiana Republican Party: $5,000;

Payday One of California also contributed an additional $5000 to Jindal and Paycheck Loans contributed $3000 to Rep. James Armes (D-Leesville).

A few members of the Louisiana congressional delegation also got a share of the booty:

• Republican Sen. David Vitter: two separate donations of $2000 each in 2010 and 2012;

• Former Republican Cong. Richard Baker who served as chairman of the House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee: $4000 in 2006 and another $1000 in 2008;

• Former Democratic Cong. Charles Melancon: $500 in 2004;

• Former State Sen. Willie Mount (D-Lake Charles), who lost her bid for Congress: $500 in 2004;

• Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu: $1000 in 2002.

Posted in Campaign Contributions, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Lobbyist, Louisiana Purchase, Politicians, Public Records, Transparency | 1 Comment »

‘Bobby, can you hear me in the bunker?’ Writer sees Romney veep snub as the end of political relevance for Gov. π-yush

August 19, 2012 by tomaswell

Editor’s note: LouisianaVoice occasionally has guest columnists. The following contribution was written by Dayne Sherman, a writer and public speaker who resides in Pontchatoula. You are invited to visit his website at: daynesherman.com.

Dear Bobby,

I hate to break the bad news. No, it’s not about Gov. Mitt Romney having the good sense not to pick you as VP, nor that you weren’t even on his shortlist of candidates, nor that you didn’t land a prime speaking spot at the RNC in Tampa. The bad news is something a conservative activist told me the other day. On Aug. 12 your political career ended.

Yes, not becoming Romney’s VP was the end of your political ascendancy. Blame Romney or blame yourself, but it’s caput.

Maybe you’ve already figured it out. Melinda Deslatte of the Associated Press ran a story with the word “bunker” in the title regarding your administration’s activities right now. Do your handlers let you read the newspaper in the bunker? I hope you have cable TV and can get ESPN, air-conditioning, too. But you need some reality therapy in a bad way.

A week ago The Dead Pelican website ran an unscientific poll. I suspect the readers are mostly conservatives. Did they let you see it in the bunker?

The poll asked a single question: “Will Bobby Jindal continue to be a rising star on the national stage, now that Paul Ryan has been picked for V.P.?”

Out of 1,079 votes cast, 68 % of the respondents said either “No” or “Who is Bobby Jindal?” Only 32 % said that your star will continue to rise.

Oh, my!

I think folks are catching on, conservatives especially. One Republican media figure recently said to me, “Dayne, I believe Bobby Jindal is going to kill the Louisiana Republican Party.” He wasn’t happy in the least.

The problem, though, is how sad a moral specimen you’ve become, an empty suit, a nihilist with only one belief left.

John Maginnis, the dean of Louisiana political columnists, opined that perhaps being present at the college exorcism and writing candidly about it may have been your very last unscripted act.

Bobby, you only believe in yourself. Can’t you see it?

I suspect you don’t have a friend in the world to tell you the truth about anything important.

And how does it feel to be used by Romney? According to reports, he didn’t even call you to say he was sorry for picking Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin). He called five other shortlisters but not you. He picked Ryan, a man with a single hero: Ayn Rand. Rand is a writer Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners calls “a philandering Russian atheist.” But at least Rand and Ryan have an ethos. A horrible ethos but an ethos nevertheless. An ethos is something very similar to an ethic or sense of morality, and a way of life in a community.

Bobby, you don’t have an ethos. There’s some interesting dialogue in The Big Lebowski, a great movie about friendship. You should watch it posthaste, and pay close attention to the “ethos” dialogue between The Dude, Walter, an Danny. Nihilism is bad, in part, because it leaves you friendless. Who cares to be a buddy to a nihilist? It escapes me. But if you had an honest friend, he might tell you the truth: you’re a caricature of the worst sort of politician on the make, and it has gotten old to Louisianans. You’ve sold your soul for personal political advancement, and everyone seems to know it but you.

Have you heard there is a giant sinkhole in Bayou Corne? Some say the thing could blow up like a nuclear bomb, a genuine apocalypse that’ll make Hurricane Katrina look like an afternoon shower. Why haven’t you been there with the press? Are you scared of the possible explosion or that no one will show up but sycophantic staffers with their iPhones to take photos, a press conference with no press? It’s not because the press won’t show out of fear, but that you’re no longer important enough to waste the drive.

Hey, out of our longstanding friendship, I’ll go if you go. Call me the press. I’ll write about it.

Bobby, we are a resilient people here in Louisiana. We have fought off hurricanes, levee failures, water moccasins, Yellow Fever, Reconstruction, a host of carpetbaggers and scallywags, and the Civil War, not to mention more bad governors and corrupt politicians than a country boy can shoot in the butt with a Daisy BB gun. We’ll survive your reign, especially now that your power is quickly diminishing. Thank God for the Law of Gravity.

So why not come on back to earth, Bobby? Your career is all downhill from here on out. Realizing this, however, may be the only thing that saves you from yourself. Read the late Covington novelist Dr. Walker Percy. I think his writings will offer a diagnosis for what is really at stake in your downward slide.

Reading Percy and surrounding yourself with some honest folks won’t save your career, but it could help save your soul.

Come on over to my place. I’ll brew a fresh pot of coffee. We can have a long talk. There’s life outside the bunker. Isn’t it about time you try to leave lockdown and go out into the sunshine?

It’s not nearly as bad as you think.

Your pal,

Dayne

Posted in Governor's Office | 24 Comments »

Notable quotables (in their own words)

August 17, 2012 by tomaswell

“In terms of salary, we can’t pay what he was making in the private sector. We were able to get him for less.”

–Gov. Piyush Jindal, in a rare interview (by telephone), on the hiring of former executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission and former executive counsel Tim Barfield to be the new secretary of the Department of Revenue at a salary of $250,000 per year.

“This young lady does not have as much experience as other candidates in the packet that is in front of me.”

–Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) member Carolyn Hill, on the selection of Heather Cope of Seattle as the new BESE executive director–a candidate whose strength is the correct use of hyphens.

“This is a travesty.”

–BESE member Lottie Beebe, on the selection of Cope.

“I thought at the end of the day this was the best candidate.”

–BESE member Chas Roemer, sounding like Piyush Jindal with his “at the end of the day.”

“We are bringing forth who we think is the strongest candidate.”

–BESE President Penny Dastugue (of the BESE walking quorums), on the decision to hire Cope.

“That’s Nuts! There will be a national search. I have their (the LSU Board of Supervisors) commitment.”

–LSU Interim President Bill Jenkins, on speculation that the fix was in for the appointment of Department of Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret as the permanent successor to fired LSU President John Lombardi, leaving unanswered the question of whether or not a commitment from a board heavy with Jindal appointees carries any meaning.

Posted in BESE, Boards, Ethics, Governor's Office, Higher Education, LSU, Notable Quotables, Politicians, Revenue | 3 Comments »

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