Tagged: politics

A Seattle education official has been name as executive director of Louisiana's top school board.

The Advocate reports Heather Cope, an official with the League of Education Voters, will be paid $125,000 per year as executive director of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. BESE sets policies for about 700,000 public school students statewide.

The executive director is responsible for administrative and fiscal operations of the board office.

A federal judge is set to hold a hearing in the dispute over who will to be the next chief justice of Louisiana's Supreme Court.

Louisiana's constitution says the longest-serving of the seven justices must get the top spot.

Bernette Johnson has served on the court since 1994 but supporters of fellow justice Jeffrey Victory say Johnson's first years shouldn't count. She was elected from an appeals court district and assigned to the higher court under a civil rights lawsuit settlement.

Victory has served since 1995.

Gov. Bobby Jindal's former labor secretary is returning to the governor's cabinet to take the helm at the Department of Revenue.

Tim Barfield will begin his job as revenue secretary in October — and will immediately begin an administration effort to revamp the state's tax system.

Jindal announced the plans Wednesday, saying a comprehensive review of the state's tax code was long overdue.

Barfield has been working for home health provider Amedisys Inc. In Jindal's first term, Barfield was head of the Louisiana Workforce Commission and then Jindal's executive counsel.