The Allen Parish School Board has gone on record opposing state legislation to allow state tax dollars to be used to pay for private schools and other educational expenses through education savings accounts (ESAs).

The School Board unanimously adopted a resolution Monday opposing proposed legislation creating education savings accounts (ESA), including House Bill 745, which creates the Louisiana Gator scholarship program. The programs would use public dollars for private school tuition and educational expenses.

“I feel like it is the best thing for us and for public education across the entire state to oppose this because the funding for public education could definitely be affected by the bills,” School Board President Karen Reed said. “I’m 100 percent behind opposing it.”

The school board is calling on the Allen Parish Parish legislative delegations to vote against any bills proposing an education savings account.

There is a renewed and concerted effort at the legislature to pass bills that will give public funds directly to parents to be used for private school tuition and other educational expenses with little to no oversight, according to the resolution adopted by the school board.

Board members contend that during the past 20 years, the state has failed to adequately fund K-12 public education and has continuously placed new accountability demands on both students and school.

Diverting public dollars to the private schools and other programs through education savings accounts (ESAs) without fully funding public schools disadvantages Allen Parish students and schools, the resolution states. It further states that providing public dollars to education savings accounts without requiring the same state accountability testing imposed on public school students is irresponsible public policy.

Superintendent Brad Soileau said there are too many unanswered questions with regards to the funding including what happens when a student leaves the district.

“You put this bill out there, yet there are hundreds of unanswered questions,” Soileau said. “Three of the biggest is you are going to take our money and send it elsewhere but they don’t have the same accountability system. They are not required to take the LEAP test and they are not held to the same standard. How is that fair? What happens when a special education student with accommodations leaves the district?  How much is this going to cost the state? When you look at other states that have done this, it’s been a tremendous cost.”

Like most school officials, Soileau feels public schools are best for students. However, he said he is not against parents’ choice.

“We just want a level playing field, especially if you are going to give parents a choice,” he said. “I’m not against parent choice, but there is a difference between a parent choosing to put their child in a private school and the state funding that out of our money and not holding people to the same standards as public schools.”

“It’s one thing to say you are not going to hold those schools to a standard when you are not funding them, but when you are going to start handing over money we are going to use to run our schools, then you need to hold everybody accountable. That’s all we are asking for.”

School Board Vice President Greg Monceaux also voiced concern about the effect the action will have on funding for public schools and future accountability.

“It’s going to cut the public schools short on money and a lot of the public schools are already fighting for their lives,” Monceaux said. “It’s going to create too many problems for us in public schools.”

Monceaux said information is lacking on how the program will be operated and how it will affect public schools.

“If they (the state) are going to pay them, are they going to be on the same playing field as we are with the testing and all that,” Monceaux asked. “There’s a lot of stuff that hasn’t come out about it and to me that should come out. They should let the people know if they are going to be on the same playing field, that way we will know if they are on the same playing field as us.”

The Allen Parish School Board provides free public K-12 education to any students who reside in the school district within the guidelines set by the state and federal government.