Despite claims that the implementation of Common Core will
not impact local school board budgets, the Jefferson Parish Public School
System (JPPSS) is selling $50 Million in new bond debt, with $35 Million
allocated for technology upgrades to administer the Common Core standardized
test, also known as PARCC.
While technically labeled “The Common Core State Standards”,
in reality, Common Core provides a national set of standards for students and
school systems.
Unlike traditional testing and standards, proponents of Common Core
claim the standards are designed to reflect “the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.”
Sounds good, right?
Not according to the Heritage Foundation, a leading
conservative Washington think tank. The
Heritage Foundation believes in limited government and is disappointed by the
lack of parental input in Education.
“Common Core is yet another top-down approach to education reform.
American citizens were not engaged in the decision-making process to adopt the
standards. Centralized education is not conducive to the American model of
self-government. Self-government in education requires empowering families with
educational opportunity to make sure their children can inherit the blessings
of a free society.”
So, why did Governor Jindal agree to accept and implement
Common Core? In a nutshell: Dollars,
both in terms of taxes and contracts.
While allowing state governors to “voluntarily” accept
Common Core, the Federal Department of Education then withheld Federal
education dollars from those states that refused to adopt the new, Nationalized
Common Core Standards initiative.
The Heritage Foundation is critical of the Federal
Government’s role in Common Core.
“State officials were enticed to adopt the standards through
(1) stimulus funding and (2) a process that completely circumvented Congress:
the Administration offering No Child Left Behind waivers to states that agreed
to adopt common standards.”
It also casts a dire warning for the future:
“But as implementation of the new centralized standards move forward,
parents will soon learn what’s in Common Core, and taxpayers will learn what it
will cost them.”
The Pioneer Foundation estimates that over a seven (7) year
time horizon, implementation of Common Core will cost state and local
governments approximately $15.8 Billion, including $6.9 Billion for technology
infrastructure and support, $5.3 Billion for “professional development”, and
$2.5 Billion for textbooks and instructional materials.
And, where will that spending come from? Get out your
wallets folks.
On the local level, the group Stop Common Core Coalition of Louisiana
is already banging the drums.
“Many who have been
sounding the alarm about the Common Core Standards Initiative (standards,
testing, and data collection) are concerned about the cost to taxpayers of
Louisiana that will be incurred under this unfunded mandate,” the group's
co-coordinator Terri Timmcke said. “We have been told by the Louisiana
Department of Education and by BESE members that our school costs will not
rise. That is completely false.”
Timmcke points out the JPPSS bond debt sale which, like the
recent bond debt sale in the City of Kenner, was approved without a vote of the
people.
“The Jefferson
Parish School Board met Oct 1 and plans to move forward to borrow $50
Million on a bond issue. $35 Million of that will go towards computers and
software for the PARCC testing.”
State Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Jefferson) is introducing a bill
to stop the implementation of Common Core. He claims that the Jindal
Administration incorrectly portrayed Common Core when it was brought to the
legislature.
“She (Assistant Superintendent of Education Erin Bendily) said it ‘doesn’t
represent a large shift from what we’re doing now,” Henry said. “That’s not
true.”
Even as the JPPSS continues with its plan to borrow money to
fund the implementation of Common Core, other school boards in Louisiana are
distancing themselves from the plan.
Thursday, a St. Tammany Parish School Board committee adopted a resolution calling on the state to stop Common Core. The resolution
goes before the entire School Board at the next meeting.
Ironically, the St. Tammany Parish School System is
consistently ranked among the state’s best school systems while the JPPSS is in
the bottom 1/3rd for the state.
So, what does the St. Tammany Parish School Board know that
the Jefferson Parish School Board doesn’t?
Obviously, quite a bit.
Perhaps we should give the JPPSS a test.
