With friends like these...

With just over 40 months in office under his belt and an annual review right around the corner, there are questions about State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek's standing in the education community, and Advocate reporter Will Sentell is asking them

You may recall that Sentell's original interview with the superintendent didn't go all that well - instead of bragging about his accomplishments, the prickly Pastorek chose to attack education leaders instead.

So this time, Sentell asked best Pastorek's allies what they think about him. Generally, they say Pastorek's doing a good job, but...

BESE Member Chas Roemer says ,“He does step on toes sometimes, and probably at times unnecessarily.”

And Louisiana Association of Business and Industry Vice President Brigitte Nieland says, “As someone once told me, you can cut deeper and more strategically with a scalpel than a sledge hammer. Sometimes Paul uses a sledge hammer rather than a scalpel.”