Anti Union Bill Delayed

HB 418 which now clearly identified as an attempt by big buisness to silence the voices of teacher, police and firemen unions was delayed on the House floor Tuesday. The bill had been scheduled for Special consideration for floor debate on Tuesday afternoon. Supporters of the bill apparently realized that they were short of the votes needed for passage of the bill. There was a rumor that opponents of the bill would play the video of Lane Grigsby bragging about driving a spear through the hearts of the teacher unions if proponents continued their bogus argument about protecting teachers from payroll deductions which everyone knows are totally optional.

Bills to curtail charters and vouchers killed in House Education Committee

House bills 21 and 340 were killed in the House Education Committee Tuesday. Charter and voucher advocates have enjoyed a majority vote of the Education Committee since Governor Jindal's allies stacked it that way several years ago.

District superintendents and local taxpayers testified that they did not want BESE overuling local school boads in the approval of charters. Educators and citizens explained that it is not appropriate to have an agency (BESE) far away from the voters decide how to spend local money.

Representative Nancy Landry countered that parents should be able to put their child's MFP money in a symbolic backpack and take it to any school they chose. What is not considered in that arguement is that the MFP is funded by all taxpayers; even those with no children in school. So Landry wants certain parents to overrule all other taxpayers in how to use our tax dollars.