A Good Law is Hard to Find, Part II:
The 2022 Redistricting of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board— Its implications for our public schools and democratic elections
This post picks up where Part I ends—without a recap of any sort. Please read Part I first!
A third reason why the EBR school board underwent the redistricting process three times within four years:
3. The decision in the Citizens United court case dramatically altered campaign finance rules, authorizing corporations and other groups to spend unlimited funds in elections.
2010: Citizens United Decision & Impact
Decision: On January 21, 2010 in a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court authorized corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections.
PACs, Political Action Committees, can give directly to candidates but are subject to contribution limits.
SuperPACs are not subject to limits. They are prohibited from coordinating with candidates; however, oversight is ineffective.1
2010
The impact of the Citizens United decision was almost immediate. The Supreme Court issued its decision in January of 2010. It was only two months later in March of 2010 that the EBR School Board decided to “voluntarily” downsize from 12 single-member districts to 11. The following fall the School Board held its regularly scheduled elections. As a result of the Citizens United decision, pro-charter groups were able to dramatically increase the amount of their campaign contributions. The Baton Rouge Area Chamber and its SuperPAC, FuturePAC, along with Lane Grigsby, the Baton Rouge area businessman, and his SuperPAC, Students First, spent more than $300,000 in the 2010 election and were able “to win narrow control of the School Board.”2
2014
In the 2014 School Board election, campaign contributions from pro-charter groups increased even more, for a total of approximately $540,000. It’s important to note that in 2014 there were two fewer districts than in 2010, so those contributions could be targeted in fewer races and have an even greater impact. What is also worth noting is that the contributions did not come only from local or Louisiana organizations. The Baton Rouge Area Chamber and FuturePAC contributed $47,500. Lane Grigsby, his associates, and his PAC contributed $359,700. Stand for Children, a national organization which promotes charter schools, contributed at least $12,500.3 And Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City and real estate mogul, contributed $102,500.4
In comparison, the organizations associated with traditional public schools—the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the Louisiana Association of Educators—contributed a total of $11,750 in the Fall 2014 election.
2018
In 2018 campaign contributions from out-of-state financial interests increased exponentially. One headline from a December 2018 article states it clearly: “Out-of-state billionaires donating to EBR school board races.”5 The billionaires mentioned in the article include: John Arnold, a former Enron executive and Houston hedge fund manager; Mike Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City and real estate magnate; Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and venture capitalist; Laurene Jobs, businesswoman and widow of Steve Jobs; and Jim Walton, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Arnold and Walton were the biggest donors, contributing $160,000 and $100,000 respectively to education reform and business organizations which spent money in support of several school board candidates. The primary pro-charter organizations were Education Reform Now Advocacy (ERNA), the PAC affiliated with Democrats for Education Reform, and FurturePAC, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s PAC.
The effect of those incoming contributions appeared to have an effect even before the elections began. Three of the business-backed school board incumbents went unchallenged, which meant they were reappointed to the seats without a vote of the people: Mark Bellue, Connie Bernard, and David Tatman, all white Republicans.
The incumbent in District 6, Jill Dyason, might as well have been elected without opposition. Dyason did garner one opponent, Tammy Dabadie, the spouse of the former Baton Rouge Police Chief. But Dabadie didn’t actively campaign. The last expenditure she made was at the end of August. Dyason won the election easily.
District 7 was somewhat similar. Mike Gaudet was expected to be re-elected without opposition, except there was a last minute challenger: myself.
I jumped into the race on the last day of qualifying. Belinda Davis, president of One Community One School District at the time, had challenged Gaudet in a special election the year before and lost. She had been expected to run again in 2018, but she changed her mind. If I hadn’t run, Gaudet would have been reappointed to the seat without a vote.
Gaudet still won.
One Advocate article noted that business and education reform groups spent more than $50,000 in support of Mike Gaudet’s election.6 In addition to that $50,000, Gaudet raised at least $24,000.7
I raised about $2,000, contributed another $2,000 of my own money and spent $3,000 of that in the election. The final vote:
Mike Gaudet, 58%, with 6249 votes. Tania Nyman, 42%, with 4600 votes.
The difference in the number of votes—1,649—was far less pronounced than the difference in campaign contributions.
Gaudet is a white Republican. I am a white Democrat. Some might conclude the education reform groups and billionaires are lining up behind white Republicans. But that’s not the deciding factor for pro-charter groups.
The $50,000 spent in support of Mike Gaudet was nothing compared to the amount spent in a couple of the other districts.
ERNA and FuturePAC spent most heavily in District 2 and District 3, both majority-Black districts. Overall these groups spent approximately $350,000 in the 2018 School Board election. Of that amount, $253,000 was spent in the District 2 and District 3 races. In the District 3 race, ERNA and FuturePAC supported Tramelle Howard. Howard had previously worked in a charter school and was employed by City Year at the time of the election. He defeated the incumbent, Dr. Kenyetta Nelson-Smith, in the primary. Dr. Nelson-Smith, an Assistant Professor at Southern University, was first elected to the EBR School Board in 2010. She had been a consistent supporter of traditional public schools and teachers and publicly criticized charter schools during the campaign.8 Both Howard and Nelson-Smith are African American Democrats.
In the District 2 race, the pro-charter business groups spent more than $125,000 in support of Dadrius Lanus to defeat the incumbent Vereta Lee. Lee, a supervisor in the Baker School System first elected to the EBR School Board in 2006, was an outspoken critic of charter schools during her time on the board and during the campaign. Lanus, who previously worked with the South Louisiana Coalition for Education, a nonprofit with ties to national pro-charter organizations, publicly defended charter schools during the race.9 He defeated Lee in the General election. With Lanus’ election to the school board, the business-backed majority increased from 5-4 to 8-1.10 Both Lanus and Lee are African American Democrats.
As it was in 2014 with the two white Republicans—David Tatman versus Jerry Arbour (as well as in 2010 with Noel Hammatt versus Barbara Freiberg), the election outcomes made no discernible difference to the makeup of the EBR School Board if demographics were the lone consideration. However, there was a profound shift in the policy decisions supported by a majority on the board.
2022
The next EBR School Board election will be held in the fall of 2022, and there is already evidence that campaign contributions from pro-charter groups will flood into the races. According to a February 2020 article, The City Fund, a new pro-charter school organization, has raised more than $225 million dollars, primarily from Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, and John Arnold, the Houston hedge fund manager. The group gave $13.49 million in grants to New Schools for Baton Rouge, a pro-charter group created by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The City Fund isn’t focused solely on dispensing such grants. It also has a political arm, Public School Allies, which raised $15 million “to support officials vying for state and local office.”11
To fully appreciate the effect of the Citizens United decision on our elections, consider the following: “Barely a decade ago, local School Board candidates spent far less, maybe $5,000 to $25,000 during a typical election.”12
Enlarging single-member districts is a new form of vote dilution.
If we want to elect candidates who are not beholden to billionaires, the focus cannot be on party affiliation—Republicans are pitted against Republicans and Democrats are pitted against Democrats based on their adherence to policy positions promoted by billionaires. Nor can the focus be exclusively on race. If we simply maintain 9 single-member districts and just attempt to increase the number of majority-Black districts, the unwieldy size of the districts will remain and the billionaires and business interests will retain their advantage. It’s the size of the current districts—not the racial or political makeup—that puts the billionaires in a better position to elect candidates who support education policies that enrich billionaires.
And the billionaires’ policies are ultimately undermining our voting rights. Please understand that business interests are pushing privatization—charter schools—because privatization is a form of voter suppression. In regards to charter schools, this is evident in the fact that charter school board members are not elected. They are appointed. Voters do not have the ability to vote them out of their seats. Once the school system is chartered, the question of who is elected to the public school system board will be a moot point. Those elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board will be powerless figureheads.
This issue must be addressed immediately if we wish to retain some semblance of democratic control of our public schools. Advocating for a fair map—a truly fair map—is key. In this new political landscape, the relevant guidelines to create a fair map for the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board must include the following objectives:
Districts must be drawn to reflect the overall racial demographics of the school district; there should be more majority-Black districts than majority-White districts.
Districts must have a low constituent to elected official ratio; we must increase the number of single-member districts in order to reduce the ideal population size within each.
Increasing the number of majority-Black districts will ensure that African Americans will not be packed into too few districts in order to dilute their voting strength on the overall school board.
Increasing the number of single-member districts to reduce the constituent to elected official ratio will mitigate—not eliminate—the influence of campaign contributions in our elections. School board elections will once again be competitive, an essential component to the democratic process. Smaller districts have the additional benefit of allowing elected officials to better serve their constituents. School board members can be more responsive to stakeholders.
How Many Single-Member Districts Do We Need?
Any increase in the number of single-member districts would be beneficial, but it is important to balance that with the other guidelines required to create fair maps, the most important of which is balanced racial makeup. More Black people live within the school system boundaries than white people. Neither racial group constitutes a majority, but the numbers still support the need for more majority-Black districts than majority-White districts. Since the district itself is neither majority-Black nor majority-White, not all districts must be either majority-Black or majority-White. A fair map could include a minimal number of “swing districts,” districts in which neither racial group constitutes a majority. If the racial makeup is appropriately balanced, such districts would favor neither a Black or white candidate since any candidate able to appeal to members of both racial groups would be in a better position to win an election.
Other possible considerations include the following:
A good proposal may be for 11 single-member districts. This is the number of single-member districts in the last map subjected to preclearance and approved by the Department of Justice. It would also reduce the ratio of elected official to constituents to 1 : 35,197.
A better proposal may be for 12 single-member districts. The EBR School Board had 12 school board districts before Citizens United was decided and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber began its campaign to enlarge the districts. With 12 single-member districts, the ratio of elected official to constituents would be reduced even further to 1 : 32,264.
The best proposal may be for 15 single-member districts. This is the highest number of districts currently allowed under statute, and it would reduce the ratio of elected official to constituents to 1 : 25,811. That’s much closer to the ideal population size recommended in 1971: 1 : 23,763. School board races would once again be competitive; it would not be necessary for candidates to garner campaign contributions from billionaires and financial interests in order to win an election. In addition, with fewer constituents, elected officials would be more responsive to stakeholders.
What next?
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is currently undergoing the redistricting process. There will be several meetings dedicated to the issue before a map is proposed and adopted. (Please see the timeline below.) It is critically important that concerned citizens get involved in this process. Here are several things they can do:
Make note of the important dates for the Redistricting Workshops. (Schedule below.)
Email the school board members to ask that they request the demographer to draw up illustrative maps with an additional number of single-member districts.
Ask the demographer to discuss and evaluate maps with additional districts. (Community groups are prepared to submit their own maps if no school board member officially requests the demographer to create illustrative maps with additional single-member districts.)
Before the workshop process is complete, send an email to the demographer with the school board members copied to express support for a specific map. (In order to ensure this email is entered into the public record, it may be prudent to send the same email addressed to the school board members with the demographer copied.)
Attend the regular School Board meeting on Thursday, March 3rd to testify on the record, tailoring one’s remarks accordingly.
Be prepared to submit copies of a preferred map if it differs from the one proposed by the school board.
Attend the regular School Board meeting on Thursday, March 17th to testify once again.
Join with other community groups organizing around this issue. Follow Restore the EBR School Board, Power Coalition, and Progressive Social Network. Please note some community groups, such as Together Baton Rouge, do not support an increase in the number of single-member districts. Carefully choose which groups to follow.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. At least it shouldn’t be. In order to ensure that the election of our school board members remains democratic, we must have a fair map; a map that provides for equitable representation; a map that ensures money doesn’t dictate the outcome of an election; a map that restores or increases the number of single-member districts for the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. Now is the time to work to make that happen.
The EBR School Board Redistricting Workshop Calendar.
Sat. February 5th, 9am: Public Forum
Woodlawn High School, 15755 Jefferson Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70817
(Not an official meeting of the Board. Some or all Board Members may attend.)
Thurs. February 10, 5pm: Redistricting Board Workshop
Professional Development Center
3000 N Sherwood Forest Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70814
Sat. February 19th, 9am: Public Forum
Park Elementary, 2680 Bogan Walk, Baton Rouge, La 70802
(Not an official meeting of the Board. Some or all Board Members may attend.)
Thurs. February 24th, 5pm: Redistricting Board Workshop
Professional Development Center
3000 N Sherwood Forest Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70814
Sat. February 26th, 9am: Public Forum
Instructional Resource Center, 1022 S Foster Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(Not an official meeting of the Board. Some or all Board Members may attend.)
Thurs. March 3rd, 5pm: Regular Board Meeting: Plan Recommended
1050 S. Foster Dr. Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Thurs. March 17th, 5pm: Regular Board Meeting: Plan Adopted
1050 S. Foster Dr. Baton Rouge, LA 70806
“Citizens United Explained.” Brennan Center for Justice, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained. Accessed 06 Dec 2021.
Lussier, Charles. “EBR School Board races draw scattered attacks.” Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA), Web Edition ed., sec. Education, 10 Nov 2014.
Lussier, Charles. “Business groups pacing spending in races: $376,000 reported in contributions.” The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) Main ed., sec. Metro, 30 Oct. 2014, p. 01B.
Lussier, Charles. “Bloomberg bets on EBR School Board races.” Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA) Main ed., sec. News, 17 Nov. 2014, p. 01A.
Lussier, Charles. "Out-of-state billionaires among donors seeking to influence Baton Rouge School Board races." Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA), sec. Education, 2 Dec. 2018.
Lussier, Charles. “District 7 voters return Gaudet to East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.” The Advocate, (Baton Rouge, LA), 06 Nov 2018.
Amounts documented in campaign finance reports which can be found by searching the Louisiana Ethics database: https://www.ethics.la.gov/CampaignFinanceSearch/SearchByName.aspx
Lussier, Charles. “School Board hopefuls spar at forum.” The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), sec. Metro 3B, page 13, 26 Sept. 2018.
Ibid
Lussier, Charles. "Amid heavy outside spending, Lanus seeks to oust incumbent Lee from School Board in Baton Rouge." The Advocate, (Baton Rouge, LA), sec. Education, 29 Nov. 2018.
Barnum, Matt. “A major new player in education giving, The City Fund uses over $100 million in grants to grow charter and charter-like schools.” Chalkbeat. 21 Feb 2020. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/2/21/21178789/a-major-new-player-in-education-giving-the-city-fund-uses-over-100-million-in-grants-to-grow-charter
Lussier, Charles. “Out-of-state billionaires among donors seeking to influence Baton Rouge School Board races.” Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA), sec. Education, 2 Dec. 2018.