Jason France, better known in the blogosphere as Crazy Crawfish, plans to run for the seat on the state board of education now held by Chas Roemer, son of a former governor, and brother of the head of the Louisiana charter school association. Jason is one brave man. He is a Crazy Crawfish, and all those who want to see a change in Louisiana’s heedless, madcap, irresponsible privatization should support him.
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Press Release
2015 BESE election to have a fresh face: Jason France, a.k.a. “The Crazy Crawfish” seeks to remove Chas Roemer as he announces his candidacy for the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) district 6.
Jason France, a father of two East Baton Rouge public school children in BESE district 6, former Louisiana Department of Education Employee, controversial education blogger, and nationally recognized privacy and public education activist has announced his intent to seek a seat on BESE.
Baton Rouge, LA, April 7, 2014: Jason France has announced his candidacy for the district 6 seat on Louisiana’s State Department of Education. The district 6 seat is currently held by longtime politician, BESE President Chas Roemer, the son of former Governor Buddy Roemer, whom has not indicated whether he will seek another term. District 6 encompasses the eastern half of East Baton Rouge Parish, Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Washington Parish, Tangipahoa Parish and the City of Bogalusa.
Jason will be a dramatic change from the current office holder in charge of the state’s public schools and students, Chas Roemer, who has never attended a public school or university, and who sends his children to a non-public school that does not endorse Common Core because they find the standards inferior and does not participate in PARCC testing because they believe those tests are a waste of learning time and money, and yet actively promotes CCSS and PARCC for other children’s kids.
Since resigning from the Louisiana Department of Education over 2 years ago Jason has been active in fighting for student, parent and teacher privacy rights and for Louisiana to drop the substandard federally funded and promoted curriculum known by the misnomer as the Common Core State Standards as the State takeover of local schools and school districts and the rubber stamp approval process of substandard voucher and charter schools throughout the state.
Jason has been one of the driving forces behind the grassroots movement organizing to preserve Public Education in Louisiana. Jason hopes that by seeking this office he will be able inspire others to enter races across the state and to undo the damage wrought by influence bought by large national and multi-national corporations and organizations, as well as out-of-state billionaires seeking to profit from Louisiana children and de-professionalize the teaching profession in favor of temporary low cost, low quality alternatives.
2015 BESE election to have a fresh face: Jason France, a.k.a. “The Crazy Crawfish Jason has attended Magnolia Woods Elementary Magnet School, South East Middle School and is
a graduate of Scotlandville Magnet School Engineering Program in East Baton Rouge Parish, and is a
proud graduate of Louisiana’s flagship public university, LSU, where he obtained his BA in Business
Administration. Jason blogs under the pseudonym “Crazy Crawfish”, at The Crazy Crawfish blog. Jason
is also a featured writer at the National Education Policy Center and at Public School Shakedown, and a
strong ally of the Network For Public Education, Parents Across America, Class Size Matters and the
Southern Education Foundation and has contributed his opinions and analysis to articles featured in the
New York Times, Reuters, Monroe News Star, The Advocate, and Washington Post. For more information about the campaign please go to http://www.JasonFrance4LA.com
Diane Ravitch's blog 
You go, Jason. You are our “Crazy Crawfish”! Best wishes and best of luck! Our movement is gaining momentum!
cool.
Yes. And may this tribe increase. Pace yourself. Beware of the swamps where the python romps.
Yay! An advocate for public schools. It’s about time they got one of them in government. It’ll matter win or lose because at least there will be some discussion of public schools other than the droning “failed and failing schools” narrative. The laser-like focus on charter schools is completely insane. It makes absolutely no sense.
Run on “improving public schools” and mean it and people will at least hear what that agenda might sound like- some option other than shutting them down and privatizing them.
There is NO state in the country more in need of education sanity than woebegotten Louisiana.
Traigically, in a state with so much amazing culture, art and history that is a true national treasure, is now completely run by the kookiest and corporate of the Far Right Wing (of both parties!!!).
Between Bobby Jindal, John White and Chas Roemer, Louisiana compounded the sorrow of Katrina so that kids all over would continue to feel the emotional and dreary pedagogical impact of that storm. The equivalent of the BP toxic oil spill through Louisiana’s education policy has been inflicted on children through the legislature in Baton Rouge to the “Recovery” District in New Orleans.
If ANYONE could hope to be a voice of reason and an advocate for the kids of Louisiana, Jason France will be.
Geaux Crawfish!
I recently commented how reformers never put themselves in a forum or debate situation because their beliefs and motives would be called into question and exposed. For this reason, I believe Roemer will not seek reelection.
I look forward to updates from you regarding this election. We had a few reformers in our city run for school board seats – they all lost, let’s hope the trend continues..
Go, Crazy Crawfish!
Jason will get a bunch of volunteers from all over Louisiana. Thanks for running!
Agreed with mike, I also believe Roemer will not seek reelection.
Unless Roemer decides to run for Cassidy’s US Congressional seat, which is already getting too full, he’s running for re-election at BESE. He has too much invested, including ensuring the growth of the charter school movement to help his sister who runs the La. Charter School Assoc. Also, he missed his best chance to run for bigger office when he chickened out of the 5th congressional dist. race a few years ago. And why not, he’ll have the backing of all the corporate-education reform crowd like Stand on Children, LABI, BRAC, Better Schools for BR – most being run by Jindal buddies and TFA alums. Plus, he’ll get money from PACs and his daddy’s banker friends. Make no mistake, they will bring out the big guns to keep him there.
Very happy that Jason has decided to bring his passion and expertise to this essential race. It won’t be easy going up against the current regime, which is entrenched in full support of CCSS, VAM, vouchers, charter schools, and the dismantling of public education. The public education community and parents will need to rally behind him in this district because he’ll have full opposition from the business community.
As a person living in this district, it would be really nice to have a BESE member who actually represents the people (as opposed to representing the party line and charter school industry) and who knows enough about the inner-workings of the LDOE to call them out on their inconsistencies, incompetence, and willful inaccuracies. We need someone who will ask the right questions, and not take the answers given w/o some critical thinking.
I have despaired that we would ever have a 6th district BESE member who would fit the bill, but Jason certainly will. But, just recently, I started to hope again. When parents started showing up at the La. Capitol this session to testify against all manner of education bills, it showed me that people are starting to wake up. There’s growing unrest in the reforms and initiatives being pushed through by the corporate-reform crowd – not just from educators, but from parents and others. The incumbent will have to work harder this time to be re-elected even with his outside $$ from the hedge-fund crowd. There’s hope!
We just need to get Crazy Crawfish elected.