The much-awaited meeting between Gov. Bobby Jindal and state Superintendent of Education John White on Thursday yielded no solution regarding state accountability tests for the 2014-15 school year.

During a media teleconference Thursday, White said he and the governor had a “cordial” discussion about the importance of procurement policy, not education policy. Last month, the governor suspended the testing contract tied to the Common Core State Standards, which he now opposes, and said the department violated procurement laws to seek competitive bids.

White said he agrees with the governor’s position on following procurement laws and supports the proposal the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education officers sent to Jindal on Wednesday agreeing on a competitive bidding process for test purchasing.

However, White said, what is “critical” is one major issue he and the governor could not agree to — who has the ability to determine which questions are on the test.

“I have great regret on behalf of the superintendents, principals, teachers, the families and the kids because they are owed better than this impasse,” White said. “BESE is saying they want to describe in detail what it is they want to buy. It seems that the administration (thinks) … that the procurement support team should be the one to interpret what is the right thing to buy.”

White said Jindal encouraged him to speak with Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols again to try to come to an agreement. White said he was open to that but was not optimistic that a compromise could be made.

“At this moment, I am not hopeful that there is a way of sitting down between BESE and the administration and working out, just on the basis of conversation, the difference over a simple but important question: Who gets to determine what’s on the test?” White said. “My sense from (Nichols’) comments yesterday, she believes the governor and the procurement support team should have a say in the education policy, in terms of what’s on that test. And my sense is BESE is not going to agree with that.”

White said the BESE officers clearly stated in Wednesday’s proposal to the governor that they want to outline the test questions but are open to using any qualifying vendor to purchase the test. “But in describing what’s going to be on that test, as the constitutionally established body, they believe that’s their job and not the procurement support team’s job,” he said.

White said that today he will issue a report to BESE about his meeting with Jindal and will recommend the board do whatever it needs to do to get a test “in the hands of teachers” as soon as possible. According to White, legal action to resolve the dispute is one option, but he is hoping it doesn’t come to that.

“If a judge or an attorney or someone can give us some legal clarity to resolve this question, of course that would make our jobs at the department easier,” he said. “But that should not be the only option we pursue. We should keep finding other ways and keep presenting other compromises.”

White said he assumes that once he submits his report, BESE will then determine what action to take.Gov. Bobby Jindal and Education Superintendent John White will meet July 17 to negotiate a compromise in their Common Core dispute. (Photo courtesy of thehayride.com)