Desoto Parish Doesn't Support Jindal's Education Plan

"We were locked out the building doors we normally go through," explained Jackie Lansdale with Red River United. "We were locked out of."

Providing uncertainty from one district here in Northwest Louisiana.

"Parts of this package has a strong tendency to erode local governance," said school board member Dudley Glenn.

 On Tuesday Desoto Parish school board members unanimously voted down part's of Governor Jindal's reform package. Saying the proposed bill, will take the responsibility away from public education and giving it to the state.

"We the school board were not in any way looking forward to, managing the system we set a policy for and to take that away as many parts of this bill does is a serious problem," he continued.

 The proposal includes vouchers for schools, along with stricter standards for teacher tenure .

"What we know is public education will no longer exist if this legislation passes. When you start talking about charters and vouchers you're taking money," added Lansdale. "Really what they're trying to do is at risk populations well the fact of the matter is vouchers have not proven to be successful for at risk populations."

 But, Governor Jindal says these bills are critical in improving the state's school system.

"If you want to continue to outperform the national and southern economies we've cut taxes," said Jindal. "We've revamped ethics, education has to be, has to be our top priority in terms of moving the state forward "

 Meanwhile Desoto parish will continue to stick to it's own version of public education reform, supporting higher education and student achievement.

"To make decisions based on what's good for adults, you loose focus when you do that," concluded Glenn.