Low Voter Turnout, Bond Issues Die in 4 of 5 Districts, Homelessness, Welsh Greyhounds State Champions

The Blog

Carl M. Ambrose, Jr.

Recently there was another election and the enemy of democracy, low voter turnout, showed up as it always does. The race for Treasurer of the state of Louisiana had 373,387 votes cast. 208,118 (56%) for John Schroder (R) and 165,269 (44%) for Derrick Edwards (D). There are roughly 2.9 million registered voters in the state of La., roughly 25% are "no Party" affiliation,  that leaves 2.2 million voters in the main two parties.  Voters in Louisiana have voted at about just over 10% for the last two election cycles. The sad thing is as a state, Louisiana has a very active social media presence, proving there's big talk and no action.

CPSB
In Calcasieu Parish voters in 4 out of 5 districts, voted down CPSB bond proposals, with District 31 being the only district to add an additional tax on themselves, special interest groups lead a ground game that appealed mostly to non-property owners and church people.  The schools should have been maintained for the period the superintendent says "nothing has been done", there is a bond that has been out for the same amount of time that, "nothing has been done", where's that money and who got it because according to him,  District 31 didn't. Higher property taxes aren't conducive to business growth, and with the state looking at big cuts, economic development, in the short-term, appears to be dead for that area of town.  The description of the vote being close is accurate but misleading, only 1 in 10 registered voters voted during this cycle, some say it' voter apathy, that may be true, but what's also true in our state and especially local governments, seem to schedule votes on things they want to pass during cycles that anticipate low turnout, makes it easier to "win" while wasting thousands and thousands of dollars holding elections. This one was tacked on to a statewide run-off so there is no complaint there.

At the November meeting of the CPSB, a week before asking citizens to vote to increase taxes, a discussion of giving a tax incentive to a corporation.  Here is a tax break discussion on a $230 million project that will create 2 permanent jobs.  Click below for discussion

Click for Discussion.

One of the first things that becomes clear after listening to this discussion is the members weren't aware that the law had been changed with a new timetable as well as payment schedule. You can actually hear one board member say this to the superintendent. Which indicates no one is looking out for the stakeholders in this.

Getting back to the Bond that was passed, there are several questions that taxpayer should ask themselves going forward. Some of these are:

1. How many people comprise the Bid Review Board? 
2. Who comprises the Bid Review Board?
3. What parameters bring the complete Board into the Bid Review Process of said board. 
4. If those parameters aren't met what extent is the complete Board involved?
5. Is there a system in place to protect the taxpayers?
6. What is the Superintendents full role in the process?
7. Why do so many bids come in just under $150 k but with change orders exceed the highest bid?
8. Are minority contractors to involved with the work to be done in District 31?
9. Where is the money being spent for the current bond in District 31?
10. Why there is never any money for the kids, but money always available for another position in an bloated school administration?
11. What were the performances of the people being brought in from smaller school systems prior to their hire in Calcasieu Parish?

Something else should be considered, District Assessment Scores, and why the Superintendents evaluations don't reflect the poor performance of the District since the beginning of  his tenure.

In 2008 the CPSB spent $72 Million dollars less on students than in 2016 and had better ACT scores than in 2016. You can see the current spending per pupil, per school  here on pages 292-293. (page count at top of PDF)

This past weekend the American Press, the mouthpiece for the Superintendent, outlined the current failing schools, and the length of tenure by the principals of those schools. First the Superintendent and the administration were blaming parents, now they are trying to blame the principals, it's neither, it's the superintendent and the board that is the problem.  All the stakeholders are frustrated with the poor performance across the board. The main reason the schools are under-performing is the lack of certified teachers.  None of those schools listed  have the full compliment of certified teachers, a problem that, according to the Superintendent, was to be fixed when the 1% sales tax was presented.

From an earlier blog:

You've been hearing about a lack of certified teachers for years now, as a matter of fact, when the  sales tax was passed in 2015 the Superintendent was quoted in an online article from KPLC saying this

"Now that we will be the number one starting in average salary in our region, we're going to take advantage of that and shout it from the mountaintop. So, if we can draw those certified teachers to Calcasieu Parish, we're going to try to get them," said Bruchhaus."

The Thursday after Mr. Tarver lashed out at the board and walked out of the Committee meeting, the American Press wrote an article about the meeting. Now what they didn't include in the article was the discussion of certified teachers or lack there of, as well as, the chronically failing schools.
This is the discussion on certified teachers where the reason these principals are having trouble, listen to the very beginning.

CPSB Discussion of Certified teachers.

The reason that some believe the American Press simply is the mouthpiece of the Superintendent are simple.  In the earlier article in the American Press "Board Member Lashes Out at School System" there was a quote attributed to board member Wayne Williams, that according to him and some present, was not said. The bigger question was why was a reporter at school resource meeting? Then led the story off by telling us that it wasn't a meeting to be covered, in not so many words, the first line, Quoting:

What was supposed to be a resource meeting for parents of John F. Kennedy Elementary students on Friday instead became a forum for an indignant Calcasieu Parish School Board member, who lambasted system administrators and his colleagues and accused a school of cheating to boost test scores. 

Why haven't you covered any resource meetings Prior to that one? Since then?  It's a setup to help the Superintendent discredit a dessenting voice..  All of the members that have been on the board prior to the vote on term limits, back the Superintendent nearly 100% of the time, with one of those,having never been opposed, and because of that fact, has never had to file a  campaign finance report.


While lack of transparency has everyone, including board members, in the dark, it's time to say, "No more money until the stakeholders know where it's going.  If the revenues of the 1% sales are 30% higher than projections, they don't need anymore tax increases or bond issues, until a forensic audit is done to give the stakeholders piece of mind.

After the bond vote, there was an interview with board member Glenda Gay discussing the bond issue on FB live and on-air with KZWA.  In the interview she discusses some of the potential waste that the proposed plan brings. You can hear that interview HERE

Next bond election: April 2018 Sales Tax District No. 3,  see circled area of image.

If they can afford to give tax incentives to corporations who are making record profits, NO NEW TAXES until a forensic audit is done.

Groups are forming all over the parish with taxpayers extremely upset at all aspects of how the CPSB has been run and is being run, some even discussing law suits when property tax time rolls around again., in particular residents that don't have children and are watching their property values and neighborhoods being allowed to fall into decline, Meanwhile as Mr. Breaux stated on the record, $150 Million spent in the western part of the parish since he has been on the board, they haven't seen that kind of money in the area where the failing schools are, as the Superintendent said, "Nothing has been done for 16-17 yrs."  Well where is all that bond money that has been collected for those same years? It certainly hasn't gone to capital improvements in the district they are collecting it from, his words, no one else.

Sasol
It was clear that Sasol's decision to drop the $14 Billion plant in Mossville, just adds insult to injury, a legacy of the Jindal administration who not only gave away the state but gave Sasol $115 million dollars to purchase land in Mossville. While the state gets out of paying $200 million in incentives, it doesn't have to begin with, the only winner in this is Sasol.  Losers? The people of Mossville who indirectly paid for the purchase of their own land disguised as a payment from Sasol, the payments, which came from the state. The people of SWLA lose, the economic boom has been more of a bust for most.


So a new golf course for the area near the Morgan field  subdivision, maybe what was said about the $12 Million put aside for a school, is true.  You will never know, the Administration keeps everyone in the dark, and there is no transparency. Stakeholders have no way of knowing if their best interest are being looked after, and based on the record of this administration, no one will.
from an earlier blog:

Note to Anyone listening, it's 2017,  the CPSB meeting should be live streamed on their facebook page so all citizens could at least have the opportunity to see for themselves what's happening concerning their children, tax dollars, and what they are going to do about chronic failing schools. The cost of live streaming is minimal and takes nothing more than turning a camera on, then turning it off. Simple. It's called transparency.

From the Mayor

There is a lack of affordable housing in the Lake Charles area, so we are seeing a growing problem with homelessness, the rents in the city are in the $1000-$1500 a month range in some areas of the city. Mayor Nic Hunter, concerned about this issued this statement of Facebook:

We have a growing homeless population in Lake Charles. First, God bless the many people who help our homeless; and thank you. Our homeless brothers and sisters are not forgotten. I believe there are some untapped opportunities with the VA to assist our homeless veterans find more than temporary shelter. We will facilitate a community wide conversation about all homelessness. More can and will be done.  -  Nic Hunter Mayor of Lake Charles

Finally, Congratulations to Coach John Richardson and the Welsh Greyhounds for winning the Louisiana Class 2A State Championship, the first in school history, well done, for the rest of your lives, you are STATE CHAMPS.

When Public Records aren't Public Records, The Citizens Lose and a Little Politics

The Blog

C. M. Ambrose, Jr.

The race for the 3rd Congressional District is a now less than a year away, the midterms.  While the Democrats had something to cheer about this past Tuesday night with sweeps in several states, and victories that were referendums on the President.  The most amazing thing to me personally as I watch the 3rd Congressional District race begins to start up is the fact that the incumbent only has $57,480  cash on hand as of 9/30/17.  Three days after the public announcement by Democrat Dr. Phillip Conner, my household got a Higgins mailing and have received several calls in past week about phone town halls, so the race is on.  Republican Josh Guillory, a Lafayette attorney, and veteran has $48,183, Dr. Phillip Conner has $40,000 on hand.  These numbers are from Opensecrets.org. The three other declared candidates, Verone Thomas(D), Larry Rader(D) and Christopher Vidrine, have not filed their paperwork yet, but like the other candidates, they have been speaking to groups and organizations in Acadiana for months. The first of my interviews with the candidates opened the new season of the podcast "The Back Porch Experience" this past week.  I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Phillip Conner at his office and you can hear that conversation HERE. 

Dr.Phillip Conner(D)or

Candidate 3rd Congressional District

CPSB

There are no questions as to the state of the education system in this parish. The problems of the Calcasieu Parish School System is not the students, teachers, in most cases not the principals, or even the parents.  It's the Administration and the CPSB members for the most part. Someone accused me of hating teacher, both of my parents were teachers, my respect and admiration for them are endless. There many hardworking and wonderful teachers out there who are being put under tremendous amounts of stress, while being underpaid, at the same time,. While others in the system (central office) make nice salaries with no accountability and face none of the stress.  Teachers around the parish get up and go to work every day knowing that no day is going to be easy, but every day they do it. You learn that if you come from a family of educators, they do it because they love it, it certainly isn't the pay. The teachers here have to do it with the knowledge that the person in charge of their career, doesn't even know what they are facing or what goes on because they have no background in education and no classroom experience. They can offer no help to them professionally, and if they are a minority, the record speaks for itself here in Calcasieu and especially under this administration. When you spend $80,000 on a law firm to get out or try to get out of a court order only to find out from that firm's report, "that you aren't even close to Unitary Status" one has to wonder if you have every child's best interest at heart.

A school district is unitary when it has eliminated the effects of past segregation to the extent practicable. When courts declare a school system unitary, the court system no longer supervises the school system's student assignment and other decisions.

The Supreme Court announced the most comprehensive list of items that lower courts had to examine in evaluating whether districts achieved unitary status in Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (1968). These six factors address the composition of a student body, faculty, staff, transportation, extracurricular activities, and facilities. School boards that seek unitary status must prove that officials implemented their desegregation orders in good faith, that their plans were effective in eliminating all vestiges of school segregation to the extent practicable under the Green factors, and that they have not violated the U.S. Constitution subsequent to the original judicial decrees.       Excerpt from Education Law, "Dual and Unitary Systems.  The whole article HERE.

The people deserve an explanation, not following court orders and then trying to circumvent them.  The citizens and taxpayers deserve transparency, as stakeholders in the system the teachers deserve transparency. There is no transparency when it comes to the CPSB, the administration isn't even transparent with the board, much less the citizens they represent.  While school board members shoulder some of the blame, the true blame lies in the leadership of the school system. While citizens understand that this was the Superintendent the board inherited, he works for them, they represent the people of Calcasieu Parish. How can you take care of the interest of the people you were elected by if you don't understand the process?  Each board member should be required to have in-service-training so that they can understand the complex issues and large amounts of money they are entrusted with.  They should be able to understand a budget, There is an election coming up in which the CPSB administration is asking for a new tax, but before I get to that let's address some other things that every tax paying citizen should consider.

Does anyone know what the attorney representing the Superintendent makes? What's his running billable tab YTD? Compared to the last yr? Anything?

Let's talk about the evaluation that was spoken about at the last school board meeting, from what I have been able to gather is that the superintendent does a "self-evaluation" of his job performance.  School board members usually submit an evaluation of the Superintendent which is given to the Superintendent and he reads them. Back to the "self-evaluation" for right now.

If the Superintendent does or has done, an evaluation of himself, that document in is 'Public Document' and should be made public.  By virtue of the minutes, this should be made available to the citizens of Calcasieu Parish.

The evaluation is a reflection of the progress the Superintendent with moving the school district forward and is done by him, thus, should be public. The public should also know how their individual school board member evaluated the Superintendent to see if they reflect how the people that voted them in feel.

 School grades can be found HERE

American Press/CPSB article HERE

After attending just two meetings of the CPSB several things became very clear:

1.  There are some members of the CPSB that don't realize The Administration and the Superintendent work for them, not the other way around.
2. The Superintendent at times is evasive, for example, when you're asked a question by a board member and your response is" Well you signed off on it" leads many to believe that the board member was either deceived or didn't read the material given, either way not good for the taxpayers of the parish.
3. There is no real training for new board members, in-service on all aspects of being a school board member should be in place to protect the citizens' interest. The training given is not relevant and doesn't help members development.
4. Some of the members of the board have no idea what they are doing, or either doesn't read or can't understand the information presented by the administration.
5. Citizens have NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION IN AFFAIRS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD.      The board members don't have the legal counsel to consult on matters with the administration and their attorney when they disagree or have questions concerning the legality of things.
6. There needs to be term limits on the school board, this becomes evident when certain board members open their statements over and over with the phrase, "I've been on the board a long time".  
7. $150 million dollars has been spent on the western part of the parish according to board member Billy Breaux.
8. The program that the administration wants to implement to save the failing schools and get a grant for, portions of that plan have been tried and failed. 
9. There still are problems with institutional controls. (See Fees and Copiers below)
10. Each school leases copiers, from different vendors, they don't even know how many copies and where they are, listen to the discussion below about fees.
11. Sometimes it seems as if some members are in total confusion on what's being discussed at the time and what's being voted on by the board. 
12. It's probably cheaper and cost-effective in the long run to purchase copiers and purchase service contracts.At least that way the school board will have something they don't have now, knowledge of how many and where every last one of those copiers are. and most importantly one vendor. That eliminates labor cost, time, and money, just more waste. If this how copiers are handled, inventoried and accounted for, imagine how much other taxpayer property they are handling in a similar fashion. Institutional controls In the excerpt below the superintendent explains the problems they have had finding out this particular piece of information

LISTEN HERE  FEES AND COPIERS

This is part of the statement made by the Superintendent at the beginning of the last monthly meeting.

Karl Bruchhaus photo from the web CPSB.org

The budgets for the CPSB are submitted for audit, of the 23 budgets submitted by the present Superintendent, some prior to his appointment as Superintendent.  Of the 23 submitted 7 received the lowest possible grade, a D.  When a budget is given a D, in the comments on fraud and abuse(and may also include control, compliance, and/or management comments) Highlighted area of the 1st page below. This means that one or more of those things may be at play.

This also means that should be referred for a closer look by those who are supposed to make sure the letter of the law is followed.

The following is one of those audits.

The above information was is available at the Audit Report Library.

The Administration is asking for a new bond for capital improvements, some of the districts have bonded out already yet have no capital improvements in the mentioned schools in those districts.
A public notice has been given and citizens should show up at the Nov 14th CPSB meeting to express their feelings.  As far as the Bond Issue increasing taxes, your Constitutional Tax will increase, period.

Recording of the Meetings should be made so they can be compared to the minutes that are submitted, to make sure they truly reflect what happened in the meeting.

This is the end of Part 1 of the random thoughts on this, part 2 is forthcoming with a discussion on what constitutes a raise,  Change orders, the Bidding process, Waste, poor inventory controls and other things that you should know, but they don't want you to know. No more new taxes until transparency and accountability are in place.

 Lastly, the city of Lake Charles and Mayor Nic Hunter has started and are offering programs to help students and parents handle some of the issues students face outside the classroom, it's time for the CPSB to educate and take care of the children, as well as spend money responsibly and prudent. Just like with the Riverboat money and the taxes and bonds, the CPSB Administration sells teacher pay raises, then says "it a not reoccurring source of revenue" so they give stipends and bonuses, the same trick seems to work over and over. Use teachers to get tax increases, then renege on promises. The riverboat money is still coming in...bond issues already out, 1% sales tax for another 18 yrs performing at 30% higher than expected, there's plenty of money  and going to be plenty of money, the administration wants to do what it wants to do with it, not what it's supposed to do with it. IT'S YOUR MONEY NOT THE SUPERINTENDENTS', THE ADMINISTRATION, THE BOARD OR BUSINESS INTEREST, IT'S YOURS THE TAXPAYER.
Random thoughts about random things.

Wishing you an outstanding week, I wish for you what you wish for yourself, Peace.

Barbe No Where Near Best in Calcasieu,Elections, Evaluations, Failing Schools and Deception

The Blog

C. M. Ambrose, Jr.

For those that weren't paying attention, the numbers for the most recent election show no interest in the process. In Calcasieu Parish, there was little interest in voting.  According to the Secretary of State,  in Calcasieu Parish, all three of the amendments were passed and Angele Davis received 34% of the vote for State Treasurer. The voters approved all three amendments for changes to the constitution. State voter turnout was at about 13%. That means barely more than one in ten people voted of those registered to vote, pretty weak for a state and area and state that are so active on various platforms of social media. It also seems to validate those who think the push to register voters is a waste of time, and that effort should be used to get those already registered to vote by providing more information on the issues.  The State Democratic Party is hemorrhaging voters and with no plan, the defections from the party will continue.

Race for State Treasurer

In what some are calling a repudiation of the La. Democratic Party,  New Orleans attorney Derrick Edwards pulled in 31% of the vote, while rarely campaigning, and raising little to no money while prominent Democratic Legislators and state party leaders endorsed Neil Riser.  Edwards has little to no chance of winning, his opponent former state legislator John Schroder (R) Covington, had raised the most money of any of the candidates in the race, with more left over for the runoff. The winner will replace Ron Henson who was appointed after John Kennedy became a U.S. Senator.

3rd Congressional District Announcement

 

Dr. Phillip Conner(D) announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 3rd congressional district on Thursday in Lake Charles at a gathering held at the Pujo St. Cafe, he joins Lafayette attorney Josh Guillory(R) and Veron Thomas(I) in challenging Rep. Clay Higgins in next falls mid-terms.  Dr. Conner gave us an exclusive interview a couple of days after his announcement.  That conversation will be available later this week on the Podcast, The Back Porch Experience.

CPSB
At October CPSB meeting, there was a couple of eventful things, one of the highlights was the recognition of Barbe English and AP Gifted English teacher  Lori Benoit, who was selected as the 2017 Yale Educator Award.  Mrs. Benoit has selected out the 400 nominations from around the world. In a selection process that is solely student-led, sponsored by the Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Yale Student  Simarpreet Chadha, a former Barbe student, nominated her former teacher for the award. The award honors outstanding educators who serve as an inspiration to their students, by supporting and encouraging them to perform at a high level. Mrs. Benoit will be attending an award ceremony at Yale.  Congratulations to Mrs. Benoit, and thank you to all the teachers who are fighting the fight every day.

There were several parents from Washington-Marion as well as alumni in the audience for the meeting. Then towards the end of the meeting board member Billy Breaux, who wasn't present at the beginning of the meeting, but appeared after the executive session, addressed the group. During this speech, he took a shot a fellow board member who is against adding more tax burden on the citizens with another bond issue. All this when the sales tax is generating 30% higher revenue than projected and should increase or at least remain constant if the words of the economic boom are true. Besides the tax last for 20 yrs.  Now to his comments and those of board member Fred Hardy.

Click to Hear Audio

Mr. Breaux said that since he's been on the board $150 million dollars have been spent on the west side of the parish, thus verifying the inequality of funding under the present administration.  It seems that each time someone is critical of the administration, Mr. Breaux is quick to come to the defense of the administration as the above clip demonstrates, even taking the board off subject. This was his second shot at a fellow board member in as many weeks.  

Quietly mentioned towards the end of the meeting was a notice about the Evaluation of the Superintendent. How this evaluation is done is the perfect example of how no one is held accountable for the failings of the system. The evaluations are given to the Superintendent being evaluated, he self-evaluates and uses the evaluations of the board members to become a better at his job.  The catch, with help from Mr. White, the grades for the schools haven't been released. The school grades are the "Data" that defines the job being done by the Administration in moving the district forward. The maximum score by the formula used is 150 points

Score 85.5 out of possible 150.  Excellent Evaluation for the Administration?  

Calcasieu Parish's score was 85.5, even on a scale of 100 a C, but the strange part about the change in scoring for the district from a C to a B with no marked improvement can be explained, in an article on Educatelouisiana.org., they delve into this.  From the article:

Obviously, the release of the 2016 scores was highly anticipated.  When the news came out that Calcasieu had brought its score back up to a B from a C, I wanted to see if I could determine how they did it.  I started out by comparing the 2016 results to the 2015 results and arranged them in order from the largest decrease to the largest increase.  When I illustrated the data in a line graph, I was shocked by what I saw.

Courtesy of Educatelouisiana.org

"When you first look at this comparison between the two years, you immediately think, "Wow! They're nearly identical!"  But when you take into consideration the yellow line that shows the greatest decrease to the greatest increase,  you realize that this is statistically impossible for that to occur organically...

"...So what does this tell us? ...I now believe the drop in the score that Calcasieu Parish received was merely the result of data manipulation.  It seems cruel, but it is necessary to understand why the accountability system is invalid."

The article contains more pertinent information in regard to how the school district has remained basically the same for the last 6 yrs, with marginal changes. You can read the complete article here.

Now with the rush to get superintendents evaluations done, John White is holding the scores for the schools, thus denying citizens valuable data that school board members need to make evaluations, that is for the rest of the state.  Calcasieu Parish Board Members were told their evaluations are simply "guides for better job performance" for the Superintendent and aren't important.

It seems that there is not only little to no accountability, it seems the agencies that are responsible for making sure the Administration is following the law, aren't doing their job of protecting the people.

FYI: Nearly every, if not all Parish schools have seen a 50% change in faculty over the last 6 yrs. The turnover rate for teachers is high, a problem that the 1% sales was to have solved.  After this year the bonuses won't be paid but the tax is a 20-year tax.

a couple of things....

1. How can the evaluation reflect the progress, if any has been made, by the district if you don't have grades for the schools?

 What are you being evaluated on? Whether they like you? He certainly isn't evaluated on the budget, the 9 schools that have failed for three state years? Is it the diversity in the central office administration? The only thing that really matters is the one thing that this seems set up to avoid, the school grades. The only two people in the State who have questionable qualifications for their positions,  John White, holding up the grades, and the Superintendent that gets evaluated on basically nothing.  How can citizen feel confident that the school system is moving in the right directions if the evaluations aren't reflective of the true environment of the system? The link below explains what teachers have to go through to get a couple of hundred bucks, while the Superintendents salary keeps risings with a school system that is hovering in sight of the bottom.  

http://educatelouisiana.org/2017/09/14/are-teachers-being-paid-correctly/

2. Why would the Administration not accept an offer to have 26 retired teachers volunteer to tutor at-risk students?

3. Why would they introduce a plan, half of which has failed before and doesn't address the problems of the failing middle schools?

4. Why are there 2 counselors from the D.A. office on school board payroll, when there are counselors in the schools already? Just another example of waste and politics.

5. Discipline is a problem but the administration won't change the policy, why?

6. Why are so many graduates of the Calcasieu Parish School system required to take remedial courses as freshmen in college?

7. Why isn't the evaluation based on the productivity of moving the system forward instead of a popularity contest?  We all like the Superintendent, some question his job performance and commitment to the whole parish as well as his ability to move the district forward, there is a record that is being ignored.

8. With all this money why can't the budget be balanced? 

9. Certificate of punctuality on the budget, so you finished and submitted on time...lol...it' never balanced even though there is an abundance of money. 

10.There is a discipline problem in the school system, the system is doing nothing to solve the problem.

When offered with an approach which was pre-intervention, and a change in approach which would address the discipline problems sooner, the administration wasn't interested.  They prefer post-intervention aka allowing disrupters to remain in class long after their discipline issue should have been addressed. The PBIS program isn't a solution.

The only thing you need to know about turn around principals, they are given every available resource, that their predecessors weren't given,  even the ability to bring some of their staff and in some cases having two guidance counselors while their predecessor usually had only one, and not as many qualified teachers.

This school district is the 4th largest in the state and ranks in the bottom 3rd when it comes to achievement, with no real improvement overall for the last 6 yrs. The problem with certified teachers supposed to have been solved, by the 1% sales tax, making the pay competitive, didn't happen.

The sales tax is for 20 yrs people, and the teacher's salary is about the same when selling the tax as "pay raise" for teachers. The pay raise as it was called was really a stipend that ends this year. and the tax goes on. One more thing on this, by paying a stipend and not giving that money in a raise, the teachers don't get that increase in retirement since it wasn't a pay raise, even got them. Salaries of the Administration are at all time highs, sources say there are at least 20-30 people minimum that if they disappeared tomorrow the only people who would miss them are the others whom they drank coffee with. Without transparency how do you know that the money is being spent wisely?  You don't, you have to take the word of a board and administration who consistently, in the past, have deceived you. 

If the scores of the schools that have been failing for the past three years don't improve and the state takes over, the entire administration and the school board who have allowed and helped this to happen should be replaced, all of them.

The school board is made up of 10 business people and 5 educators, the system is run by an accountant, and you wonder why Calcasieu Parish hovers around the bottom in education? Everyone knows that some of the things which were stated in a recent newspaper article by a board member are true, and we know that the administration will go to great lengths to quiet its critics.  I've personally experienced that, as have others.  There is no oversight, no transparency, and no progress, just lots of high five and six-figure salaries, while citizens get deceived and their tax money not used to benefit them. It's only criminal if those in charge of policing, police.  They aren't, and that doesn't make it right. What it does is simply continues that pattern of politics and racial inequality that has been going on for years in Calcasieu Parish directed at a portion of Lake Charles.  It's just blatant now under the present administration and board. Now with no one watching they have one of the largest budgets for education in the state, a bloated, overpaid front office and continues to fail year after year.

Barbe thought to be the best school in the district, even if that were the case, the district is one of the worst in the state, it's the worst in the SWLA area. The supposed best school in the district doesn't register on any best of the list. 

As a matter of fact, according to Schooldigger.com, the first school to show up on the list of Louisiana high school rankings from Calcasieu Parish shows up at #70, Sam Houston High School.  The best high school in SWLA according to Schooldigger.com is Grand Lake High School, which came in at #30 and is in Cameron Parish.  Other area schools on the list before any CPSB school were: Laccasine and Lake Arthur, Hornebeck. Fairview.  Schools from the area ranked after #70 Sam Houston are:

#82 Westlake, #85 Hathaway, #87 Oakdale, #112 Evans , #114 Simpson, #124 Oberlin, #135 Iowa, #137 Starks, #138 Bell City, #140 BARBE, #150 Jennings.

The complete list can be viewed HERE.

The proof is in the record, and this administration's record would get them fired and the board replaced if this were a corporation. The shareholders, the citizens, keep getting screwed, even the best in the district could be better if there was someone in the system that knew Education.  Thank God, I have no kids in this system, it's not a system that benefits minority students at all or underperforming nonminority students.

School board bonds are usually requested by board members for their specific district, and usually, have an amortization period of 2-3 yrs.  The new, additional bond (tax) is being asked for by the Superintendent, highly unusual, and the amortization period of 6 yrs requires taxpayers to pay an additional tax for 6 more yrs.  That's two (2) bonds and a 20 or 1% sales tax.  Are you going to keep taxing yourself and seeing none of the money?  Something to think about. Another thing to think about, where are the pastors and community leaders? Playing politics and doing photo ops, no results, just smiling for the camera.

Backroom deals eventually get brought to the Front table.  

City of Lake Charles

Lastly, a person on a panel about the Civil Rights History in Lake Charles, who didn't live through the period or wasn't born or lived here in Lake Charles? Well, that's Lake Charles politics for you. 

The State of Louisiana, like CPSB, is waiting to tax you too, just like last time, as soon as  YOU tax yourself locally the state will slap another tax figuring it ok, you just taxed yourself.  

Wishing for you what to wish for yourself, Peace.

Dr. Phillip Conner Announces Run for Congress

Dr. Phillip Conner Enters 3rd Congressional Race

C. M. Ambrose, Jr.

Dr. Phillip Conner announces Congressional run Thursday night 

(Lake Charles)  On Thursday night in Lake Charles, Dr. Phillip S. Conner announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 3rd Congressional district.  The announcement was made to a gathering of supporters at the Pujo St. Cafe in Historic Downtown Lake Charles.  Dr. Conner vowed to "represent the interest of the people" and committed to working for the best interest of the people of the 3rd Congressional district. After the address, Dr. Conner mingled and answered questions on the issues.  Dr. Conner is board certified in both Family Medicine and Sleep Medicine and is the owner and medical director of The Sleep Disorder Center of Louisiana. A graduate of LSU and LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and is originally from Lake Charles graduating from Lagrange High School.  Other announced candidates to challenge for the seat now held by Clay Higgins (R) Lafayette are Verone Thomas (D) from Lake Charles and Attorney Josh Guillory (R) from Lafayette. The election is in the fall of 2018.

©Everythinglakecharles.com 2015-2017. All Rights Reserved 

Calcasieu Parish School Board Meeting Tuesday 10/10/17

Failing Schools, Certified Teachers, Repeat

 
The Blog  

C. M. Ambrose, Jr.

 Normally excellence requires nearly flawless execution, and above average favorable results, not the case when it comes to evaluating the Superintendent of Calcasieu Parish, you can have failing schools at a yearly rate of 15%.  If no data is available to assess your job performance, like say test scores, how can citizens be sure you are performing the job truly satisfactory and what are the criteria that are being used.There are nine (9) possibly ten (10) schools in the Calcasieu Parish School System that are failing and have been failing for the past three (3) yrs. Louisiana ranks 50th in education, In SWLa. Calcasieu ranks last in the 5 parish area and bottom of the state. According to Neighborhoodscout.com, these are the best neighborhoods for education in Lake Charles.
These are the neighborhoods:

1. Sale R. / Weaver Rd.

2. Prien

3. Grand Chenier / Grand Lake

4.Moss Bluff

5. Gillis

6. Newton

7. Nelson Rd. / Country Club

8.Big Lake Rd / W. Tank Farm Rd

9. Shell Beach / Alvin St.

10. University Place

You won't see any schools in this area without certified teachers, failing in consecutive years. Those are where the best schools are in one of the states largest and worst school systems. Much of the same, with the same excuses.  It's time for the Superintendent to have his evaluation based on his job performance and results,  that is how evaluations work for the rest of the world, but there is one problem, there are no test scores, which are a large indicator of system progress.  We know that for the past 3 years roughly 15% of the schools in the parish have failed, but the evaluations don't reflect that.  As a public servant, elected by a board of elected officials be open and honest with his personal evaluation. Should it be public? If there is no data, how can he be effectively evaluated on job performance and how is the interest of the citizens protected? The fact that there are 9 consistently failing schools indicate something other than "Excellent" is going on.  The board itself, which was criticised by board member Wayne Williams as being "incompetent", is as much to blame as the administration.  Mr. Williams also stated that the Superintendent was lying to the citizens of Calcasieu Parish in the same article. it seems the deception runs deep in the CPSB and with a lack of transparency, no one knows what is actually going on with $400 million roughly a year. 

You've been hearing about a lack of certified teachers for years now, as a matter of fact, when the  sales tax was passed in 2015 the Superintendent was quoted in an online article from KPLC saying this

"Now that we will be the number one starting in average salary in our region, we're going to take advantage of that and shout it from the mountaintop. So, if we can draw those certified teachers to Calcasieu Parish, we're going to try to get them," said Bruchhaus."

With issues of consistently failing schools not fully staffed with certified teachers and an inability to recruit those teachers over a period of time demonstrates anything but excellence.  Did the raises attract new teachers?  Was that even a raise? How about this, there are reports that some of the students who graduate from the Calcasieu Parish school system are being required to take remedial classes due to the fact that, in some cases,  they are unprepared for college work.  The sales tax was sold as a pay raise for teachers and a way to hire more certified educators, what has happened is anything but that.

This is what CPSB spokeswoman Kirby Smith said in an email to the American Press back 2015 prior to the measure being passed, stating if passed: 

"The payment of salaries of teachers in the public elementary and secondary schools of the parish and for the expenses of operating said schools, such operating expenses to include payment of salaries of other personnel."The revenues from the tax contribute to the district's general fund for exactly that purpose. In any given year salaries and benefits are approximately 83% of our general fund expenditures, therefore approximately 83% of the permanent 1 percent sales tax is spent on salaries and benefits."

If the above statement is true, why is there $12+ million set aside, from the above-mentioned funds, for a school in southeast Lake Charles? Revenues from the tax are coming in at a 30% higher clip than last year, more than initially anticipated. but the quality of education remains the same.or in some cases worst. Now, a new scheme to double tax the citizens of Calcasieu.  More on that in the next set of articles, as well as the one word, removed from the Superintendents contract, back then, that is present in all standard parish contracts. 

 Finally, last Thursday the American Press wrote an article about a committee meeting which occurred on Tuesday, where a school board member walked out, what they didn't include in the article was the discussion of the certified teachers or lack thereof,  as well as the chronically failing schools.  Down below is a link to hear that discussion. These are just some random thoughts, Yours?

Certified Teacher Discussion Below

Click to hear discussion

NEXT CPSB MEETING IS TUES. OCT. 9

New Season Begins October 16th

CPSB Meeting: Eric Tarver Lashes Out at Board members, then Storms out Meeting.

The Blog

C.M. Ambrose, Jr.

So it's been awhile, didn't have much to say and actually have been getting ready for a new season of the podcast, The Back Porch Experience's 2nd season which starts the first week of October.  With that being said, here goes.  I had never attended a committee meeting of the CPSB, so I decided to go after reading last weeks article by Crystal Stevenson on the top of the front page of the American Press. In the article  Board Member Wayne Williams accuses the Superintendent of lying to board members and the public. In the article, Mr. Williams is quoted naming a school in reference to cheating.
 When I  asked about his reference to the particular school, Mr. Williams stated that he mentioned "No School By Name" that cheats and also stated that he was unaware that the press had been invited to such a small gathering of parents, or that Crystal Stevenson was a reporter.  Beyond this dispute, all that's left are troubling issues raised by Mr. Williams.  The first,  the accusation that the Superintendent of the Calcasieu Parish Schools is "lying" to parents and citizens.From the article:

"In response to his suggestion that Lagrange High be torn down and a new school built, Williams said administrators told him the school system couldn't afford to build new schools.  He presented a highlighted document to parents that he said proves the School Board set aside $12 million to build a school for K-5 in Morganfield,  a development southeast of town."

There several other quotes attributed to Mr. Williams in the article including the References to "Junior Boy" as well as calling his fellow board members "incompetent". So I figured the next meeting would be interesting, it just happens to be a committee meeting, which is a good because it's generally a friendly audience with few if any parents in attendance so the board members are more relaxed.  Anyway, that was my reasoning for attending the meeting. The meeting begins, roll call, all but 3 members were in attendance,  the discussion begins about school fees, a grandfather/veteran spoke about the astronomical cost of fees for cheerleading and other activities. After responses from the board, this happened.

Eric Tarver Lashes out at the Board
 The meeting got to a point where the discussion was about an amendment to existing regulations regarding travel.  Visibly upset, Eric Tarver waited until everyone spoke, then he spoke to the board. The following is what Mr. Tarver said to the board and a couple of comments after prior to the vote.

Now after the vote which was counted and the results announced, Mt. Tarver visibly upset, gathered his belongings and walk straight out, speaking to no one. He was followed out but was gone.  Many seemed to not notice, some ignored.  It was never addressed after the recess.  Several things stand out about "what" Mr. Tarver said. Which seems to confirm some of what Mr. Williams is quoted as saying.  "Build more buildings" with money that was sold to taxpayers as teacher pay raises, not a one-time bonus or stipend. This and other issues brought up by Mr. Williams and inadvertently by other members of the school board will have to wait for the next article.  If you haven't gone to a CPSB meeting, you probably should, it's an unbelievable experience and you can decide for yourself if Mr. Williams assertion is correct, as stated in the American Press article:

"He said his fellow School Board members are “incompetent.”

Note to Anyone listening, it's 2017,  the CPSB meeting should be live streamed on their facebook page so all citizens could at least have the opportunity to see for themselves what's happening concerning their children, tax dollars, and what they are going to do about chronic failing schools. The cost of live streaming is minimal and takes nothing more than turning a camera on, then turning it off. Simple. It's called transparency.

Lastly, Mr. Williams, the subject of a front-page article last week, said one word in the entire 2 hours and 15 min meeting.  That word, "Here" when the roll was called.

Next article:  New Bond Issue and Mr. Williams accusations.