BATON ROUGE -- A state teacher union lost a round today in its battle to
preserve collective bargaining rights for New Orleans teachers.
The issue arose as a House committee began debate on Governor Kathleen
Blanco's proposed legislation that would allow the state to take control
of almost all New Orleans schools.
Blanco's proposal would allow the state to turn control of each school
to an independent entity, such as a university or a foundation that
wants to try to improve school performance.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers pushed for an amendment saying that
an existing union agreement with the New Orleans teacher union would not
be negated by the bill. But the amendment failed on a 5-to-10 vote.
Education Committee chairman Carl Crane, the bill's author, opposed the
amendment. Officials with the state education department noted that the
state board that will run the schools will still have the option of
negotiating with the union.
A vote on the bill itself was expected later this afternoon.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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