Brad Pitt movie donates office supplies; budget surplus tied to unfilled staff posts

In a brief board meeting on Monday night, the finance committee reported that Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Excellence Academy ended the first quarter of the new school year $21,000 under budget.  The surplus resulted from as yet unfilled staff positions and receipt of a unbudgeted grant of $6,000 to subsidize the salary of the school’s reading interventionist.

Enrollment for the year came in at 374 students, just one short of the projected number.

Principal Eileen Williams reported that The Butler, a Brad Pitt movie filmed in New Orleans, donated some office supplies to the school as local production ended this month.

Academically, Williams said, this is a transition year for Harney, so no school performance score will be assigned. Harney’s average baseline score for the past two years, came in at 72.1, just below the minimum of 75 set by the state.