Governor Renews Voucher Debate, Defends Against LSU Lab Queries

Though Governor Jindal and staff shook off the pejorative “voucher” title, the tax break his administration supports is a reconfigured voucher program, more or less. The teacher’s union lobby has called the move part of a “political agenda.” According to the Times-Picayune, Sen. Rob Marionneaux

expects the overall cost to the state to be about $20 million annually, which would average more than $150 in tax breaks per private school student.

Timing is everything, so the contentious debate over not-quite-voucher programs is not the best time for Jindal ‘n Company to need to defend their children’s attending the LSU Lab, an exclusive, publicly funded school, which does have a tuition.

The Advocate reports:

For the 2007-2008 school year, annual tuition for all grades was $3,652. Tuition at St. Joseph’s Academy was $7,931; at Parkview Baptist, $5,440 to $5,865; and at Episcopal High School, $9,850 to $12,900.

Would Jindal (along with chief of staff Timmy Teepell) benefit from a tax-break/voucher program because of the school’s tuition? Time will tell, though the ever-humble Teepell points out that the tuition he pays is more than his mortgage.

Jindal’s support for the school voucher program is no secret, nor is his chief staff’s unorthodox education, which included home schooling. Jindal’s education budget already includes some hot topics - such as funding for select private school students - though some expect the administration to establish fiscal support for home schoolers.