Gov. Bobby Jindal is trying to partner the state’s private schools with public businesses to provide mentoring, counseling and new buildings.
 
The announcement came at the same Louisiana Association of Business and Industry meeting in which Jindal confirmed his hopes to keep budget cuts to higher education less than 10 percent.
 
Jindal’s plan would encourage businesses to provide career counseling, mentoring and technical consulting to the state’s charter schools.
 
It would also encourage those businesses to pay for land or buildings.
Participating businesses would receive a minority percentage on the school’s board. They would also get preferred enrollment at the charter schools for company employees.
 
Fifty percent of a school’s enrollment capacity would be reserved for children of the partnering businesses. If more students than alotted enroll, a lottery is instituted to fill the reserved seats.
 
The remaining 50 percent of enrollment is determined by a lottery opened to all qualifying students in the school’s geographic area. This process currently determines enrollment for the entire school.
 
“This new business-charter school partnership legislation will help feed the pipeline of qualified workers for Louisiana businesses while creating important career opportunities for students,” Jindal said at the meeting.
 
Jindal said he has already started seeking corporate partners. Glen Post, president and CEO of Monroe-based communications company CenturyLink, said his company was looking forward to participating in the program.
 
“Companies like CenturyLink should benefit as programs such as this one help create a more qualified work force in the future,” Post said in a news release.
 
Jindal’s proposal must be approved by the Legislature before it can be implemented.
 
The program is modeled after a similar one in Florida. In addition to allowing companies to partner with schools, Florida allows large companies to host on-site schools specifically for employees’ children.
 
The Florida program also allows companies to provide capital for projects in charter schools. Its constitution specifically allows schools that partner with businesses to give preferential enrollment to company employees.
 
Jindal said the Florida program resulted in five partnerships. He also said similar partnerships are “under way” in 14 other states.
 
Jindal said the partnerships were an important part of continually improving the state’s historically poor education system.
 
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Contact Matthew Albright at
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