JON GLOVER
District 4’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education seat is vacant. Who will be the new member of the board? Will it be Shelly McFarland? Michael Melerine? John Milkovich? Cody Whitaker? Cassie Williams?
District 4 BESE covers Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Vernon, Webster and Winn parishes.
Twenty years into the 21st century, are boys and girls in these 10 parishes better off academically?
Ninety-six thousand seven hundred eighty-four boys and girls attend public school in the 10 parishes: Bienville (2,157), Bossier (22,589), Caddo (38,199), DeSoto (5,034), Natchitoches (5,933), Red River (1,484), Sabine (4,388), Vernon (8,684), Webster (6,140) and Winn (2,166).
Again, who will be the representative for the District 4 BESE seat? Shelly McFarland? Michael Melerine? John Milkovich? Cody Whitaker? Cassie Williams?
Character, integrity, respect, leadership, knowledge of the public education system and moral compass are necessary for the one chosen to represent District 4 on the BESE board.
The duty, as a member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, will be oversight and planning responsibilities for the Louisiana Department of Education, establishing minimum funding levels for local schools and management of the state’s educational funds, and the holding of administrative hearings to resolve education-related disputes, an extraordinary responsibility.
BESE sets policies for about 720,000 public school students here in Louisiana.
“Teach for America” shares President Biden’s position on education by “investing in early childhood education, eliminating the funding gap between affluent and low-income school districts, and increasing teacher pay.”
Reading those words only reminded me of Solomon’s words: “There’s nothing new under the sun,” and those words aren’t new, are they? It would appear that every administration has dressed up its policy but has never truly followed through with their policy; will the Biden administration be the first?
If that $1.9 trillion stimulus package is approved, according to Bloomberg Law, “about $130 billion would go to K-12 schools to help hire additional staff to reduce class size, modify spaces and purchase resources to help meet students’ academic and mental health needs. The plan would also direct $35 billion to colleges and universities and create a $5 billion fund for governors to direct help to schools most hard-hit by the virus.”
Now here’s the $100 million question: How many of those dollars, real, will land at the doorsteps of schools in these 10 parishes that make up District 4?
On Saturday, March 20, voters from Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Vernon, Webster and Winn will decide who will take that seat, representing District 4 on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE February 26 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.