BESE Leadership Must Be Replaced

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News • CENTRAL — The Central City News provided wall-to-wall coverage of the meeting of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday, August 18 at the Claiborne Building next to the Capitol.

The meeting was supposed to resolve the issue of whether parents or the governor would have the power to decide if children would have to wear masks during the 2021-2022 school year.

However, because of utter incompetence of the leadership of BESE, the board was not able to hear public testimony on the matter and come to a vote. This despite the fact school has already started!

The mainstream media will tell you parents there to oppose mandatory masks were the problem.  That is not the true!

Nearly 300 parents from every corner of the state came to testify.  Almost all were strongly against the mask mandate.  Support for masking kids was negligible.

BESE president Sandy Holloway took the position that the job of BESE was to take orders from the governor.  A couple of weeks ago, Gov. John Bel Edwards issued another one of his illegal executive orders demanding that everyone in Louisiana mask up when they are indoors.

The governor’s “orders” meant that school children would have to wear masks eight hours a day.  The “orders” also meant that everyone attending the BESE meeting would have to wear masks as well. 

What Ms. Holloway and some  members of BESE don’t seem to understand is that hundreds of thousands of Louisianians don’t wear the mask, and 53 percent of the people have chosen not to take a vaccine.  Only 38 percent are fully vaccinated.

Ms. Holloway scheduled a meeting on the subject of mandatory masks.  The meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. A large crowd was on hand.  Probably the largest in the history of BESE. The public was immediately told that you must put on a mask or leave the room. 

If you think about it, that was quite extraordinary. Holloway wanted to exclude from the meeting room all the people against mandatory masks!  In other words, she wanted to kick her opponents out of the room!

With nearly 300 people in the audience waiting to speak against the mask mandate, you would have thought she would have put testimony on the mask mandate at the top of the agenda. Some citizens had gotten up at 3 a.m. in Shreveport to drive here. She could have let people express their views and go home.  But no!

Instead, BESE proceeded through one boring item after another. Around 10 a.m. they decided to go into executive session to do their annual evaluation of the job the state superintendent is doing.  Seriously?  While BESE met in secret, the public cooled their heels in the meeting room.

Gov. John Bel Edwards’ executive counsel Matthew Block was seen outside the room where the closed down meeting was going on without his mask!

While the meeting was in recess, many in the audience began to speak out or chant. Rev. Tony Spell went to the front and spoke for a few minutes.  Only a few from his congregation were present but the mixed group from around the state cheered and applauded.  One of the funny things that happened was that the deaf interpreter hired by the state to sign during the meeting seemed to change sides and signed as Pastor Spell and other citizens spoke!

One of the most popular speakers was Jonathan Koeppel, a teacher at Fontainebleau High in St. Tammany Parish who was just fired from his job for refusing to wear a mask.  He has a medical exemption but the school board reportedly ignored it.

When the members of BESE finally came back into the meeting round 12 noon, BESE president Sandy Holloway chastised the audience for not wearing their masks. A board member said Gov. Edwards’ State Health officer Dr. Joseph Kanter meets with the board weekly.  He said Kanter was coming into the room to testify and that for his safety and protection everyone in the audience not wearing a mask needed to leave the room.

You are threatening his health, he said. People looked at each other as if to say, “Seriously? He’s afraid we’re going to kill him?”

Instead of the fearful Dr. Kanter appearing by a Zoom call if he was so afraid, almost the entire room was supposed to leave for his protection.  However, no one left!

Realizing they weren’t leaving Holloway said that well, now it’s time for public testimony but instead we’re going to lunch!  The room erupted with boos and catcalls.  They had already waited for three hours.  Now they were supposed to wait around another hour or two for the BESE members to go to lunch!  

Somebody said BESE would rather go to lunch than do their job and hear our concerns.  Yes, they were out to lunch, for sure!

Somebody said the governor wants to be sure we don’t testify, because there are too many cameras here and it won’t fit the narrative. 

Holloway said BESE wouldn’t be able to continue the meeting unless everyone put on a mask or left the room.  When they didn’t, BESE member Holly Boffy moved that the meeting be adjourned.  After some delays, the vote was held with only BESE members Jim Garvey and Mike Melerine voting to stay and hear the public.

After adjournment, a hundred or more parents milled around talking about the extraordinary events of the day and then filed out to the front of the building. One was heard to say, “You see what happens when you cross the Mama Bears?” The group re-formed outside and listened to anyone who wanted to speak.  Many gave their testimony and said the things they would have said if given the chance to testify.

Someone said, “We should have put on the masks so we could testify.”  However, her companion said, “They weren’t going to vote with us anyway! We did the right thing!”

***

It’s clear BESE needs new leadership. Their chief legal advisor, Attorney General Jeff Landry, has issued two extensive legal opinions explaining that the governor has no power to order anyone in the state to wear masks and no power to dictate to BESE or local school boards that children must wear masks.

BESE could have heard from a representative of the Attorney General at its meeting for guidance but chose not to. 

BESE has ignored the AG’s advice.  They’re “just following orders” from the governor.

The first thing a member of BESE does is take a constitutional Oath of Office.  Article 10, Section 30 of the Louisiana Constitution requires every public official to take the following: “ I ___ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of this state and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as___, according to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me God.”

For a public official, it all begins with that oath to support the federal and state constitutions.  Their duty is to uphold the constitution!  Not illegal dictates or mandates by a governor, a mayor or anyone else.

The Constitution is over the governor and BESE.  It is above all the statutes and above any “emergency power” the governor may try to claim.

Nowhere in the Louisiana Constitution is the governor given the power to enact laws.  That is the job of the legislative branch.

The Emergency Powers Act of 1992, which the governor has relied on as he issues his decrees, provides the governor certain enumerated powers and no others.  Those enumerated powers do not include closing businesses, shutting down the economy, or requiring masks or vaccines.

Furthermore, La. R.S. 29:736D of the Emergency Powers Act specifically says, 

“Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted to diminish the rights guaranteed to all persons under the Declaration of Rights of the Louisiana Constitution or the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.  This Chapter shall not violate Article II (Distribution of Powers), Article III (Legislative Branch), or Article V (Judicial Branch) of the Louisiana Constitution.  The courts shall be open, and every person shall have an adequate remedy by due process of law and justice, administered without denial, partiality, or unreasonable delay, for injury to him in his person, property, reputation, or other rights.  The orders of all courts shall have their full force and effect.  The legislature may call itself into session at any time and shall exercise its powers and duties.  Its ability to enact law, appropriate funds, and confirm appointees shall be in full force.  The privileges and immunities of legislators shall be respected.” 

Of course, that language is not really necessary because the governor has no power to violate the constitution. Rather, the language of R.S. 29:736D is a powerful reminder to BESE, our courts, and everyone else that the powers of the governor under the Emergency Powers Act are very limited.

***

The premise of BESE president Sandy Holloway and other leaders of BESE that they can remove citizens from a meeting of BESE to conform to the edicts of a governor is deeply flawed.  

Article 12, Section 3 of the Louisiana Constitution says, 

“No person shall be denied the right to observe the deliberations of public bodies and examine public documents, except in cases established by law.”  

The question is, has the Louisiana Legislature passed a law allowing BESE to exclude people from its meetings because they won’t wear a mask?  No, no such law exists!  The legislature has never said citizens can be kept out of a public meeting because they won’t mask.

BESE’s attempt to exclude citizens from its meeting failed miserably.  Nearly 300 citizens attended their meeting without a mask — probably the largest turnout in the history of BESE!

Real leadership would have accommodated those who refused to wear the mask, received the public comment that is essential to our system of government in Louisiana, and voted on a policy.

As it is, BESE has proven to be impotent and unable to function. They were unable to make a decision, even a bad decision.  That is not acceptable, and their leadership must go!

***

Where do we go from here?

People are constantly asking me how we can end this chaos and return to normal.  Well, there are many things we can do.  We can still vote the would-be tyrants out of office, and that is important.  However, some of them won’t be on the ballot for years.  

We must continue to speak out and inform our fellow citizens.

But I believe one of the most powerful tools is refusing to comply with irrational mandates and directives.  Refuse to accept the mask and bitterly complain to those who try to force it on you!  They are easily tired and frustrated having to justify their mindless obedience to JBE.

Businesses that try to be mask nazis or an extension of John Bel Edwards should be boycotted.  

Just don’t go back!

Refusal to comply will work, if enough people do it!  

***

Why there is reason for hope.

Americans are rediscovering the Declaration of Rights, Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Founding Fathers.  They are learning how our system of government works.  More patriots are being developed and trained to stand up for our freedom and the American way of life right now than at any time in our lifetime.  Yes, there is hope, and I believe we will win!

Twitter Digg Delicious Stumbleupon Technorati Facebook Email

No comments yet... Be the first to leave a reply!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.