Legislation removing the three appointed members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has cleared the House Education Committee with a 7-3 vote. The proposed constitutional amendment is sponsored by Rep. Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles.

Tarver said he is sponsoring House Bill 4  in order to give the people a stronger voice in the operation of their school systems. He said Louisiana education continues to be ranked from 48th to 50th place in the nation, which has been the case during his lifetime.

So something isn’t working, he said, adding that special interests can influence appointees. Voters want everyone to be held accountable, he said. Tarver is also sponsoring House Bill 84, the statutory companion to his amendment. It was also approved 7-3.

The legislation is awaiting action by the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee that has to approve all proposed amendments. Once approved there it will go to the full House for debate.

Amendments require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate. If approved by both houses, the state’s voters with a majority vote would have the final word on Nov. 8.

BESE currently has eight elected members and the three appointees. Members serve four-year terms that are concurrent with the term of the governor.

Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, and committee chairman, said there were 23 green cards in support of the legislation and 99 cards in support were filed electronically. There were only three cards in opposition.

Rep. Patrick Jefferson, D-Homer, said appointed members of BESE represent education interests that need that representation. The eight elected members are selected from the state’s former eight congressional districts. Jefferson cast one of the three votes against HB 4.

Rep. Charles “Chuck” Owen, R-Rosepine, and a member of the committee, indicated the governor has too many powers and called the current situation “a vestige of an imperial governorship that we are always used to in Louisiana.” Owen voted for the bill.

Tom Constanza, executive director of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, turned in one of the red cards against the bill. He said he didn’t see any reason to change the current BESE structure.

Belinda Davis of Baton Rouge, one of the three current appointees on the board, is also a professor of public policy at LSU. She said there are 24 education boards that are appointed nationwide and there are 16 similar to Louisiana’s structure.

Davis said appointees often have some education qualifications that aren’t found among the eight elected members. The other two appointed members are Thomas Roque, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Alexandria, and Doris Voitier, superintendent of St. Bernard Parish schools and a longtime educator.

Melissa Flournoy, chairwoman of Louisiana Progress, said Tarver’s bill would highly politicize BESE.