‘Innovative Schools’ Plan To Baton Rouge Board

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Bernard Taylor told the school board he hopes to solicit proposals to create new schools in order to head off growing competition from charter schools.

Taylor said he's concerned that charters schools are eating up an increasing share of his funding, potentially at the expense of day-to-day operations, and he needs to develop a viable, affordable alternative.

The Advocate reports the alternative, which Taylor presented Thursday, is something he's calling "Innovative Schools." He said, unlike most charter schools, he wants school ideas that are not just "more of the same."

Innovative Schools would function much like charter schools. Like charter schools, they would be public schools run by private organizations. They would have autonomy over instruction and picking their teams.