Linda Johnson plans retirement from BESE

Linda Johnson plans to retire from the La. State Board of Elementary and secondary Education (BESE) this December.

Johnson made the announcement when she submitted her political announcement to run for Iberville Parish Tax Assessor to the POST SOUTH recently.

Johnson served 12 years after being appointed to the board in October of 1999 by former La. Gov. Mike Foster.

She served as the BESE president for three consecutive terms and one term as the secretary-treasurer. Johnson also chaired the Quality Education High School Redesign/Early Childhood Administration and Financial Committee.

She is proud of the fact she fought hard for the Louisiana Four Program and got great support for the Universal Pre-K Program. Johnson also served on an early childhood panel at Harvard.

“It is time to move on, but I feel I did my part to serve our school-aged children on the state board. I firmly believe in our state developing more and more early learning programs for children. The earlier they discover the learning process, the more they will prosper in their entire educational endeavors,” explained Johnson.

Johnson worked for a number of years at Georgia Gulf Chemicals in Plaquemine as a lab technician and a Human Resources employee. She retired in late 2005.

Johnson says she has been spending a lot of time recently talking to tax assessors in the state to better understand the workings of the elected office before she begins campaigning.