12 schools need new management

It’s time for leaders in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to let someone else try to fix our failing schools, and to stop trying to interfere with or sabotage those efforts.

For years state education leaders urged our school officials to do a better job of teaching Baton Rouge’s children to read, write and function in the modern world. After years of warnings, state officials last year finally stepped in and took over four of the worst performing schools.

Charter school operators, including 100 Black Men, Advance Baton Rouge and national providers with deep experience, stepped up to work in our public schools. It’s too early to measure success, so they should be given ample time to produce results.

Meanwhile, more Baton Rouge schools continue to fail to meet state standards. This month the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will decide whether or not to take over as many as 12 more Baton Rouge schools.

Now, rather than supporting BESE’s effort, Superintendent Charlotte Placide and others in the system are fighting a fruitless turf battle. At every turn they seem to want to hamper BESE and charter operators. Most recently, Placide tried to stir up parents of children at schools facing BESE takeover to—of all things—protest the very effort that might finally give their children a better education.

For professionals like Placide, it may be humbling to watch someone else asked to come in and fix a failing school in your care. But that decision was long in coming, and it has been made—let the process work.

When BESE takes over a struggling school, it has plenty of options. Up to a dozen proven charter operators are interested to work with BESE and to try their hand at educating Baton Rouge’s youth. If chosen, they must work under far tighter accountability than public schools here ever have. While they are free to try innovative methods, if they fail BESE simply ends the contract and finds someone else who can do a better job—something that’s been virtually impossible under standard school administration.

We believe Placide’s opposition to the new effort is short-sighted. Whether you agree with BESE’s efforts or not, at least give the educators they empower a chance.

Don’t be deceived by emotional appeals to stand up against some perceived enemy. The harsh reality is local school officials lose thousands of dollars from their budget for every child that switches to a charter school, and they are willing to go to great lengths to protect that money and all that it affords them.

If Baton Rouge’s school administrators have the children at heart, then rather than spending time rallying parents to fight BESE, Placide should be imploring them to support every public school teacher and principal in the parish, whether they work for her system or not.

Officials have long known the rules and the consequences. Now the BESE board should do the right thing and vote to take over these 12 schools and put them under new management.