Recent editorials from Louisiana newspapers:
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Jan. 30
The Advocate of Baton Rouge on investing in schools:
Over time, Louisiana has to invest more in public education.
Right now, says Gov. John Bel Edwards, there’s just not enough money available to do that.
The governor, married to a schoolteacher, is an advocate for funding for schools, but the realities of the state budget suggest that any increase is unlikely when the Legislature meets this year.
The state investment in schools tops $3.7 billion, and, for the first time, there are serious discussions about cutting the Minimum Foundation Program, the basic funding formula for public education.
This is not a good idea, but it is a measure of how discussion about education has shifted in the past decade.
The MFP has never been cut, and most of the time the talk is about how much to increase it, particularly to keep up with inflation and rising costs of a people-oriented operation: payroll, retirement, health care. Every organization of any size is familiar with those challenges.
The governor’s education aide, Don Songy, said there will be some increases recommended in the Edwards budget for schools - about $18 million for special programs. But, the idea of a general increase of $35 million pushed by school systems doesn’t seem very likely.
Although the proposed increase seems steep, the underlying problem of inflation remains.
School systems estimate about $38 million in new payroll costs in the fiscal year beginning July 1, or just about what officials want in a general increase. The proposed $18 million in the Edwards budget isn’t intended to deal with that problem: It is targeted at vocational programs and high-school courses for college credit.
Louisiana is hardly alone in seeing inflation erode school budgets. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates a 3.6 percent decline in real education dollars because of inflation since 2008. Generally, state education spending is on the rise nationally.
Not here.
There haven’t been offsetting increases in the MFP, or at least enough to overcome the drag of rising costs. Since 2008, the Legislature and former Gov. Bobby Jindal cut taxes and gave away lavish tax breaks, even as the Wall Street crash cut revenues; lately, under both Jindal and Edwards, a sharp decline in oil prices has further hit the state’s pocketbook.
Budget “realities” will guide the governor’s proposals, Songy said, but all involved are aware that over time, it is the education of a population that drives prosperity. More so than ever, Louisiana’s work force challenges are not just in skills training, but in basic literacy - students being able to calculate and function in a technological society.
Another underlying issue is local support.
School officials like state increases in the MFP because those are granted by the Legislature. Local tax initiatives are much harder to advance. But we wonder if school officials can put off very much longer going to their local taxpayers, typically for property tax increases.
Local support has to be a part of the education discussion - not just the governor and the Legislature.
Online: https://www.theadvocate.com/
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Feb. 1
The Courier of Houma on Black History Month:
Black History Month is an excellent opportunity.
It is a great way to celebrate the achievements of black Americans while also learning more about those same difference makers throughout our nation’s history.
Black History Month grew out of historian Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week, which he saw as a chance to shine a spotlight on important contributions made by black people in every field.
President Gerald R. Ford first recognized the entire month as a national observance in 1976. Since then, it has grown into an important annual event.
It is not, as its detractors sometimes claim, aimed at excluding white people from the conversation.
The thought when Black History Month began was that the many important people and events in our history were overlooked or neglected because of race.
We are reminded far too often of the issues and events that continue to divide us.
But focusing on positive achievements and historical accuracy is not divisive. It is simply a nod to facts and people who were there all along but had been omitted.
Our society has made great strides toward equality. But much work remains.
It doesn’t take away from anyone else to focus on people who remind us of the struggle for equality and reinforce for us how important the struggle is.
Places such as schools and libraries should offer and value diverse offerings throughout the year - and, for the most part, they do.
But giving people a reason to learn more about the people and events that have shaped our nation and the world is always a worthwhile goal.
Black History Month is not about exclusion; it’s about inclusion. It’s about including the people who were for so long left out of our national narrative. That doesn’t do anything to lessen the significance of white people’s achievements. In fact, by presenting a more complete story of our nation, they help lift all of us to a better and more accurate understanding.
Black History Month begins today and runs through the end of February. Take this chance to head to the local library and check out a book that’s part of this month’s focus. Or do some reading online about why this remains a necessary and instructional event.
This is an excellent chance to learn more about all our ancestors’ contributions and to celebrate those achievements.
Editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper, not of any individual.
Online: https://www.houmatoday.com/
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Feb. 1
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune on why women shouldn’t be stuck with low pay:
A new report on the gender gap worldwide reached a sobering conclusion. Although women and men are going to school at about the same rate, and their health outcomes are similar, women are losing ground economically, the World Economic Forum found. And it will take decades to catch up.
There is educational parity in the United States. But our country lags in other measures, including pay, and ranks 45th out of 144 countries worldwide in overall equality, the report found. Other studies have ranked Louisiana’s gap in pay as among the worst in the nation.
That is the backdrop for a new initiative by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. He issued an executive order Jan. 25 requesting a pay disparity survey by the Civil Service Commission and announcing a ban of questions about salary history during the hiring process for city employees.
“It is unacceptable that, on average, women make just 79% of what men make. We need equal pay for equal work,” Mayor Landrieu said. “The income disparity affects a woman’s ability to buy a home, pay student loans and support her family. As we move forward with anti-poverty measures and work to ensure everyone has access to a living wage, we must make the gender wage gap a priority.”
A post-Katrina Tulane University study found that the wage gap between women and men with full-time jobs in Orleans Parish is 21 percent. Women’s median income is $36,367 compared with $45,934 for men, the study found.
Because women historically have made less than men, having to reveal a history of low pay could perpetuate the problem. New Orleans Rep. Helena Moreno, who attended the mayor’s news conference, said, “Studies show that salary negotiation is one of the main contributors to the wage gap, therefore, banning questions about salary history is a helpful step toward achieving fair pay.”
Massachusetts in 2016 became the first state to pass a law forbidding companies to screen job candidates based on their pay history. The law, which had bipartisan support, will require employers to provide a salary amount up front when it goes into effect in 2018.
“I think very few businesses consciously discriminate, but they need to become aware of it,” state Sen. Pat Jehlen, one of the Massachusetts bill’s co-sponsors, told The New York Times. “These are things that don’t just affect one job; it keeps women’s wages down over their entire lifetime.”
That law applies to private employers, while Mayor Landrieu’s order is limited to city jobs.
The mayor’s executive order also spelled out the specifics for the Civil Service Commission study. “The analysis should include actual wages paid, with a breakdown of gender, classification, base pay, longevity, merit, special assignment, overtime, and any other pay above the base rate for the position and an estimate of the cost to close the wage gap,” it said.
The study is an important step. If the city has historic inequities built into its pay schedule, and it likely does, they should be remedied.
In New Orleans, families headed by women make 48 percent less in income than families overall, according to the mayor’s executive order. The poverty rate for women in the city - especially those who are heading up households with children - is significantly higher than for men, according to multiple studies and U.S. Census Bureau data.
Although Mayor Landrieu can only have a direct effect on his own employees, his example could help move the issue forward. The state Senate last year approved equal pay legislation pushed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, but the bill died in a House committee. The governor has said he will try again this year.
Equal pay for comparable work is basically an issue of fairness. Why should two people with the same background make different salaries for the same work simply because one is a woman and the other a man?
And why are we still asking that question in 2017?
Online: https://www.nola.com/
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