Baker teachers voice grievances, protest force schools to close

During a day of protest that closed schools in Baker, teachers presented a long list of grievances to Baton Rouge’s school superintendent on Monday.
The teachers complained of stagnant salaries and rundown buildings while questioning the central office’s management of retirement and medical insurance funds. Classes were expected to resume as normal on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
“We are sick and we are tired of the negligence, incompetence and blatant disrespect that is consistently displayed by so many people on this school board and at the central office,” the teachers said in a letter to the superintendent.
“They’re setting an example for teachers in the rest of the state,” Les Landon, a spokesman for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said about the teachers.
Landon said the problems in Baker are a “cautionary tale” about independent school districts in Louisiana, which he said often are run on thin tax bases. Baker is one of a handful of independent districts in the state. On Nov. 7, Louisiana voters will decide whether a new district should created in the town of Central in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Monday’s classes at all five of Baker’s public schools were canceled because of the walkout.
Superintendent Lester Klotz said he was disappointed by the teachers’ decision to interrupt the school day.
Klotz had originally planned to keep classes in session, but he said that a majority of the teachers were planning to miss school