Last spring, Louisiana held a crucial election that determined who would control the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Governor Bobby Jindal–the uber-conservative education reformer with a plan to replace public education with vouchers and charters–wanted to take control.
He rallied his friends and allies to win the decisive seat on the board, which was held by a local attorney, Louella Givens. Jindal’s candidate was Kira Orange Jones, the director of TFA in New Orleans.
According to Education Week, Orange Jones collected nearly $500,000 for her campaign. She raised large sums of money from the business community and from out-of-state donors, including Mayor Bloomberg, who sent a last-minute contribution of $100,000. Orange Jones also received campaign funds from Democrats for Education Reform, the pro-charter Wall Street hedge-fund managers organization.
Educators rallied to support Givens, but she raised only $9,000. In a runoff, Orange Jones won.
Now questions have been raised about the propriety of having a member of the state board who works for an organization that receives contracts from the State Department of Education. Orange Jones says there is no conflict because TFA gets its contracts from the state education department, not the state board.
The potential for conflict of interest goes well beyond the contracts that are written specifically for TFA. Every time the state board of education approves charter schools, it is implicitly expanding the number of jobs available for members of TFA. Every expansion of charters across Louisiana will benefit TFA teachers and alums who run charters.
Don’t expect Governor Jindal to launch an investigation. The question in Louisiana is whether there is anyone independent of the Jindal machine (or TFA–the state superintendent is a TFA alum).
Diane
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Unfortunately, it might not matter whether she stays or goes. The interest of the public schools in Louisiana is already compromised beyond conflict. According to the article you posted, “Should Orange Jones have to step aside, it would not do much to alter the board’s leanings. It is stacked with a comfortable majority who more or less support the state’s recent approach to improving schools: growing the number of independent charter schools, imposing more stringent teacher evaluations and most recently, expanding the use of private school vouchers for low income families.”
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I don’t think that is correct. Orange Jones provided the decisive vote that allowed Governor Jindal to take control of the state board. The question is how anyone who opposes his agenda can win a state-wide election when Jindal and his allies are able to raise half a million dollars or more to elect them, and when Jindal’s opponents–those amazingly powerful teachers’ unions–can raise only $9,000.
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Charter school operation has become big business, with charter pulling down big buck salaries, TFA execs make a substantial salary as well. In situations like these, they become tax dollar funded big business. Reform is quickly becoming the new housing bubble.
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Well, I hope the bubble “bursts” sooner rather than later.
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This is a question I’d like to work on because I’m researching a similar on in Michigan. You’ll probably get a response from LA sooner than I can get to you but will be glad to share my posts and my findings ASAP. Probably within a month.
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The reformers tend to get into conflict of interest situations because there are so few of them, and they can’t trust real educators or parents.
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Here in Washington State, we are trying to fight a charter school invasion supported by the rich people, Stand for Children, TFA, Alliance 4 Ed, the TFA alum and current dean of the College of education at UW Tom Stritikus, etc. FOIA releases of emails have shown that some of the rich players like Jon Bridge of Ben Bridge jewelers and all of the Ed deform groups have been “guiding” school board members and the Seattle interim supe – totally unethical and against rules. One email even has Jon Bridge saying that what the teachers think doesn’t matter. Some WA State legislators like Rueven Carlyle and Sharon Tomiko-Santos are all drinking the charter Kool-aid and taking “donations” from the Ed deform groups. If initiative 1240 goes through and the GOP gov candidate McKenna is elected, then Louisiana’s story will soon become Washington State’s story.
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Not a conflict of interest? I’ve attended many BESE meetings in Baton Rouge, and seen them approve millions of dollars in CONTRACTS, including those for TFA. By the way, the executive director of BESE (our state board of education) just resigned. No reason given…
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Speaking of conflicts of interest, how much does Pearson pay administrators and instructional coaches to promote their wares in schools?
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There is one lone member of BESE who did beat her Jindal back opponent. Hats off to her and her questioning and independent voting. Jindal along with outside money did everything he could to get his ducks in a row on the board. He’ll do everything he can behind the scenes to keep Kira Orange Jones in her seat.
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What this situation needs is an investigation on the par of the Watergate investigation. Where is the national press in all of this? Why are there so few in-depth questions, difficult conversations, and deep analysis of the ever-increasing stories of greed, misfeasance, and corruption? We are on the edge of an abyss. Follow the money.
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If you want to know what’s what in the real world of Louisiana public education, talk to the state president of the Lousiana Educators Association–the NEA affiliate. She has been on top of this since Day One and has connected the dots. It is outrageous.
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