Jindal won’t force BESE member to step down

• By WILL SENTELL
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jul 9, 2009 - Page: 12A

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Wednesday that a state school board member, whom he wants to resign, will keep her post if she refuses to step down.

Jindal was asked what happens if Tammie McDaniel, of Oak Ridge, declines to give up her seat on the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“Well, she would continue to serve,” Jindal said. “I mean she’s certainly got that right.”

McDaniel is one of three Jindal appointees to the state’s top school board, which has 11 members.
One of Jindal’s top aides last week asked her to resign.

McDaniel has said she has not decided what to do. She did not respond to two telephone calls and an e-mail message Wednesday.

Jindal has declined to spell out why he wants McDaniel off the board.

“I’ll say this, every person we appoint to any board, we expect them to support a reform agenda,” the governor said July 1. “If they don’t do that, they can expect to hear from us.”

The state Constitution says the term of state school board members runs concurrent with the governor who made the appointment.

Jindal named McDaniel to the board in January 2008. That means she could serve for another 30 months.

What, if any, problems she would face as an appointee of the governor who has lost his confidence is unclear.

The board, which met last month, is scheduled to meet again in August.

The panel sets policies for about 650,000 public school students statewide.

McDaniel, 51, is a former principal and teacher. She also worked as a northeast Louisiana campaign strategist for Jindal in his winning campaign for governor in 2007.