Important election is May 2

No election is insignificant.

Whether it’s electing officials to governmental entities or deciding on a tax proposition, our lives are affected in one way or another. And so it is for Caddo Parish voters May 2. There are two propositions on the ballot which will impact residents – and their children – for years to come.

While education propositions are usually a slam dunk, not so in the case of the school system’s $108 million bond issue, which is awaiting a thumbs up or thumbs down from voters May 2. It has been controversial, to say the least, since it was first proposed by Superintendent Dr. Lamar Goree and sent to the voters on a 12-0 vote by the Caddo Parish School Board.

In a nutshell, the plan, called Reinvest in Caddo, would close six schools – Jack P. Timmons, Blanchard and Creswell Elementary, Barret Paideia Academy, E.B. Williams- Stoner Hill Laboratory School and the Alexander Learning Center. It calls for three new schools – in central Shreveport and in southeast Shreveport and Blanchard where there have been significant population increases. In addition, some of the money would be used to update science labs, air-conditioning and other facilities at existing schools.

Opposition from some government watchers and bloggers has been intense, noting the decrease in student population does not warrant passing this bond issue. Meanwhile, Goree and his staff have held several informational meetings throughout the parish in an effort to garner support for the bond proposal, emphasizing that it is not an increase in the tax millage.

Most local politicos believe it will be a close vote. If you have children attending school in Caddo Parish, it is an election in which you should participate. Early-on, the initial reaction was that the bond proposal was doomed to failure, but in the 11th hour, the plan seems to have momentum for passage. Among those rallying to the side of the bond issue is the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, which has 1,600 members who employ more than 70,000 people.

Others rallying behind it are the Committee of One Hundred, Alliance for Education, the Central Trades Council of Shreveport and Vicinity – AFL-CIO, the Red River United Caddo- Bossier Federation of Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Educators, and influential Bishop Larry Brandon of Praise Temple Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral. Whether these organizations have enough clout to get voters to the polls and pass the bond issue remains to be seen.

Caddo Register of Voters Ernie Roberson is predicting a voter turnout of between 7 and 11 percent. Ernie is not often wrong on his predictions, but let’s hope he is on this one. If parents don’t take the time to vote on the future education of their children, then, surely, we have reached a sad state of affairs.

And not lost in it all is the vote will be a signature moment for Goree as superintendent of Caddo Schools, as well as for the members of the school board.

Another tax proposition on the ballot has also been controversial. The Caddo Parish Commission put on the ballot a tax renewal of 1.67 mills for the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana. The tax provides about $3 million a year for the Foundation and is used to promote economic development in scientific and educational programs.

The problem here is the current tax does not expire until 2018. Renewing it now would guarantee the income from the tax until 2032. Foundation officials contend they need that guarantee for planning. Opponents contend approval of an extension of the tax is premature, saying they want to wait and see how Biomed is doing before giving it a long-term financial stream. Here, too, the outcome of the vote is in doubt with some politicos predicting it will fail. For some voters, understanding this tax proposition is above their pay grade, which could result in voting against.

Always a constant rub in such tax propositions is the fact the only ones who pick up the tab are property owners because they are property taxes. Therefore, it makes no difference financially to someone who can vote but does not own property. There are those who continually advocate only property owners should be allowed to vote on propositions affecting them. I doubt there will be a resolution to that outcry any time soon. Nevertheless, go to the polls and vote.

I want to close this column on a personal note. I was just shocked to get a phone call last week informing me Caddo District Attorney Charles Rex Scott, 67, was found dead in a hotel room in Baton Rouge. He served his community with honor and distinction. He was elected a city judge in 1980 and district judge in 1982 and was for five years chief judge until being elected Caddo Parish District Attorney in 2009. Scott was respected statewide, having served as president of the Louisiana District Judges Association and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. At the time of his death, he was in the first year of his second term as DA for which he was unopposed. He was a good and loyal friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Alexis, and their families.

Lou Gehrig Burnett, an award-winning journalist, has been involved with politics for 44 years and was a congressional aide in Washington, D.C., for 27 years. He also served as executive assistant to former Shreveport Mayor Bo Williams. Burnett is the publisher of the weekly “FaxNet Update” and can be reached at 861-0552 or louburnett@comcast.net.