
Last weekend, Gabriela Biro surprised many poll watchers by handily winning a runoff election for the Orleans Parish School Board’s 2nd District over a well-endorsed opponent — Eric “Doc” Jones, who has worked in local education for decades.
In January, Biro, a community advocate who works as a hairstylist, will be sworn in as one of only two new members on the seven-member board. She will be joined by another first-time political candidate: KaTrina Chantelle Griffin, who won the 4th District seat outright in the November primary over incumbent Donaldo Batiste. The remaining five seats failed to draw any opposition and went automatically to incumbent members.
Biro, a pro-labor progressive and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, favors the expansion of traditional, district-run schools in a city where nearly all public schools are managed by private charter networks. Griffin, on the other hand, was strongly backed by pro-charter-school organizations.
But both were political newcomers running against well-established opponents who received endorsements from a slate of elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, as well as members of the New Orleans City Council and the Louisiana State Legislature. (Though Batiste boasted a larger number of elected supporters in the 4th District race, Griffin did receive endorsements from former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and City Councilmember JP Morrell.)
In an interview with Verite News, Robert Collins, professor of urban studies and public policy at Dillard University, said he sees Biro’s victory as part of a broader, anti-establishment trend in politics.
“Those endorsements hurt [Jones] because it showed that he was a member of the establishment,” Collins said. “And right now, you don’t want to be affiliated with the establishment. You want to be seen as anti-establishment.”
Biro also sees her win as a move against what she called the establishment, including Jones and the politicians who endorsed him.
“The people were ready for something that was more progressive than what the establishment has been putting forward,” Biro said.
There likely were other factors at play in Biro’s victory, of course. In the weeks before the election, Jones’ decades of experience in public education came under scrutiny after Verite News reported on inconsistencies in his resume, finding that he never held positions he claimed to have held on his website and exaggerated how many years he worked in some schools.
“My opponent, you know, had a lot of flaws, and the fact that they circled their wagons around him, I don’t think was a great look,” Biro said.
Jones did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday (Dec. 11).
Where Jones’ endorsements came from high-profile elected leaders, Biro was endorsed by labor groups, including the United Teachers of New Orleans. (Batiste, the 4th District incumbent who lost to Griffin, was also endorsed by UTNO.) The local teachers union has seen its political power wane over the past two decades — as unionized district schools were replaced by charters without collective bargaining contracts — though the city has seen a gradual uptick in charter school unionization over the past decade.
Dave Cash, the president of the United Teachers of New Orleans, said the union voted to endorse Biro because she could bring a fresh perspective to the board with a community-oriented approach.
“I think [it] really impressed us that she was listening to the community and that she would prioritize really finding out what people wanted and that she didn’t want this position for herself, but to serve the community,” Cash said.
Biro said she has already started to hear constituents’ recommendations and concerns. Although the board has little say in day-to-day operations at charter schools — which comprise all but one public school in the city — board members negotiate contracts and renewals with charter networks. And, importantly, they select the superintendent for the NOLA Public Schools district.
Avis Williams, the district’s superintendent, announced her resignation last month after a little more than two years in the position. Williams did not provide a reason for the resignation, but it came as the district was dealing with a major accounting error that left city schools facing an estimated $36 million shortfall, since relieved in part through a deal with the city of New Orleans.
Biro said she wants a superintendent who is familiar with the unique nature of the school district through its relationships with various charters, a conclusion she came to after conversations with community members.
Biro said she also received an email asking that the board not vote to close the Delores Taylor Arthur School for Young Men in the middle of the current academic year. District officials recommended the abrupt closure due to severe financial difficulties at Arthur — an all-boys school in Gentilly — unrelated to the districtwide deficit.
Biro, however, will not be part of the decision over the school. On Monday, the Arthur School’s operating board voted to surrender the school’s charter effective Dec. 31. The current members of the Orleans Parish School Board agreed to accept the decision at their Tuesday evening meeting.
Biro has previously said she is not against closing failing charter schools, but she has indicated that she wants to move the district in the direction of replacing them with district-run schools. That is in line with where the school district, and OPSB, appear to be moving. The school district opened its first permanent direct-run school in almost 20 years this summer and is considering taking on more. Griffin’s stance is less clear on the charter vs. direct-run debate. She told The Times-Picayune that she supports “good schools,” no matter if they’re district or charter-run.
Collins said he thinks the expansion of direct-run schools — and with it more direct oversight from OPSB — may lead to more interest in future school board races.
“A lot of people that are interested in school board politics basically gave up because they said, ‘Well, the charter system runs the school systems now so we wouldn’t have any power anyway. So why would be waste our time trying?’” Collins said. “But now, I think the pro-district people, the anti-charter people, are starting to see changes in public opinion and so they think they have a realistic shot now at winning people to their side.”