Last fall, a state court in Louisiana ruled that it was unconstitutional for the state to pay for vouchers by taking dollars from the Minimum Foundation Program. The state constitution says the money is for public schools only. Judge Tim Kelley, a Republican, ruled that private and religious schools are not “public schools.” He wrote: ““While the Court does not dispute the serious nature of these proceedings nor the impact and potential effects on Louisiana’s educational systems, vital public dollars raised and allocated for public schools through the MFP cannot be lawfully diverted to nonpublic schools or entities.”  

Governor Bobby Jindal and his faithful State Commissioner (ex-TFA) John White immediately sought a way to circumvent the court ruling.

Not willing to wait for a judge to rule on the state’s appeal, they now say that the public funding will go to districts, which will be expected to fund vouchers.

Nothing will slow Jindal and White’s efforts to privatize the state’s public schools, not the state constitution and not a court decision.

Mercedes Schneider nails it when she says this is nothing less than a “money-laundering scheme.” 

And the Louisiana School Boards Association denounced John White’s effort to circumvent the court’s ruling and the state constitution.

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers said that White’s proposal is “an attempted end run around the State Constitution.”

Steve Monaghan of the LFT said, “This is simply a dodge, but it isn’t artful,” he continued. “The simple fact is that if it is illegal for the state to spend MFP funds on private and religious schools, it would also be illegal for local school districts to do the same thing.”