CAUGHT ON CAMERA: School Boards Serving Systems, Not Students

Louisiana has a long history of public corruption. It is one of the many reasons the Pelican State continues to fall behind the rest of the country in population growth, jobs and opportunities. And while it’s troubling every time we hear about a politician accepting bribes or the misuse of public funds, it stings even more when we learn of school leaders getting in on the act because we trust them to educate our kids.

The Livingston Parish School System recently provided a poignant example. Last month, public employees were allegedly caught on camera using public vehicles to distribute political campaign signs urging citizens to vote for a new sales tax to pay for raises for teachers, bus drivers and other school district employees. 

Campaign sign produced by Livingston Parish School System in support of a new sales tax.

If passed, the new sales tax would have generated around $24 million a year for the next 10 years to provide at least a 10% pay raise for every single Livingston Parish School System employee. There are more than 3,800 of them!

In the weeks leading up to the March 25th election, local school officials went all out to support the proposal. A group of Livingston Parish principals even took out a full-page newspaper ad urging voters to support the tax. If the ad was paid for out of their own pockets with private funds, there’s nothing fishy about that.

But a recent report published by Citizens for a New Louisiana suggests the entire campaign was paid for with taxpayer dollars. Only time and a public records request will reveal the true answer to that— so stay tuned.

In the meantime, it appears the Livingston Parish School System may have stepped over the legal line—at least once. Days before the tax election, a WAFB investigation exposed public school system employees who were caught on camera using department-issued vehicles to put up campaign signs promoting the tax. Franz Borghardt, a legal expert who spoke to WAFB for the investigation, said the incident raises questions because it “does not conform to the ethics rules.”

Employees of the Livingston Parish School System were caught this past weekend allegedly putting out signs related to the upcoming tax election.

Indeed, we should all be asking questions. Department vehicles are paid for by taxpayers with public money and they should only be used to provide public services—not to conduct political activities. The law is very clear on this. Article 11, Section 4 of the Louisiana Constitution states, “No public funds shall be used to urge any elector to vote for or against any candidate or proposition…” This same language is codified in Louisiana Revised Statue 18:1465. Penalties for violating this prohibition include “one thousand dollar fine and imprisonment with or without hard labor for up to two years, or both.”

When asked about the incident, Livingston Parish Superintendent of Schools Joe Murphy issued a bizarre statement that seemed like an attempt to simultaneously deny the incident and also justify it.

Livingston Parish Superintendent of Schools Joe Murphy

 “No employee is getting paid extra to put out pro-tax signs.

“Any information released by Livingston Parish Public Schools is only informative and factual. No materials attempt to persuade a voter for or against the election issue.

“As a government entity, LPPS has the obligation to inform its constituency of issues and actions that impact them and their children.”

Despite the legally questionable efforts of the Livingston Parish School System, voters rejected the new 1-cent sales tax on March 25th by a margin of 54% to 46%, according to The Times-Picayune I Baton Rouge Advocate.

No formal ethical or legal complaints have been filed to date over the incident, but it serves as an important reminder that we must hold public officials and school leaders accountable. Schools are meant to serve students, not systems.

Editor’s Note: Let us know if you see public officials using or abusing taxpayer resources. If you have a story, tip or inside information about public corruption or any other issue that you think LA Swampwatch should cover, send us an email.