Even though the academic year has just begun, at least two charter school boards are already deciding whether to sign existing school leaders to an additional year or begin the search process for a new chief.

The New Beginnings Schools Foundation and the Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans’ board will vote on their CEO contracts tonight. New Beginnings runs four charter schools serving about 2,000 students; the standalone Lycée Français enrolls about 450.

The New Beginnings board amended its agenda after a phone call Friday from the The Lens questioning the legality of discussing a “CEO contract” in executive session.

The agenda now states “CEO professional competency” will be discussed in executive session, which is allowed by state law, and a public vote on the contract will follow.

Sametta Brown has led the network since being hired in the fall of 2012. New Beginnings operates three elementary schools, Pierre A. Capdau, Gentilly Terrace, and Medard H. Nelson, as well as Lake Area New Tech Early College High School.

The board of directors of the French curriculum Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans charter school will also vote on its school leader’s contact tonight.

The board appears poised to keep CEO Keith Bartlett on for another year, with an agenda item that reads “motion to approve” his contract. Bartlett’s 2013-14 contract listed a salary of $90,000.

Bartlett was first hired in an interim capacity to lead the French charter school after a series of nationwide searches failed to produce a permanent candidate last spring. He is being offered the same amount according to the 2014-15 employment agreement draft.

The Lens has also requested a copy of the contract from New Beginnings.

New Beginnings’ board meets at the district’s office, 2045 Lakeshore Drive Suite 438, at 5:30 p.m. Lycée’s board meets at its Patton Street campus at 6:30 p.m.

Marta Jewson

Marta Jewson covers education in New Orleans for The Lens. She began her reporting career covering charter schools for The Lens and helped found the hyperlocal news site Mid-City Messenger. Jewson returned...