Hearing on $8.1 million Einstein budget draws no public input

The board waited for 45 minutes to take public comment and with no members of the public on hand, it voted to adjourn.

Even though Einstein Charter School’s budget is increasing nearly two-fold as it takes on an academically failing school next year, no members of the public came to comment on the proposed $8.1 million budget.

At the public hearing Tuesday night, a requirement of state law, board members leafed through budget packets and asked questions of Einstein’s business manager Doug Guidry. The Lens highlighted several changes in Einstein’s budget, which is nearly doubling from this year’s $4.6 million.

Einstein received a $1 million federal grant earlier this year to turnaround Intercultural Charter School, which loses its charter June 30. Einstein will take over ICS July 1, and is calling the site Einstein Extension.

Members waited for 45 minutes to take public comment and with no members of the public on hand, members adjourned the meeting at 5:45 p.m. Members Laurin Jacobsen, Lauren Pigeon, Emily Danielson, Donnica Conway, and Kathy Litchfield and Ryan Bennett were present.

The board will meet June 4 for its regularly scheduled meeting.

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 to New Orleans in the fall of 2014 after covering education for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with majors in journalism and social welfare and a concentration in educational policy studies.

Jewson has covered New Orleans schools for 15 years through the nation's largest education reform experiment. She was a founding member of the outlet's Charter School Reporting Corps and was instrumental in holding schools accountable to sunshine laws during the rapid expansion of charter schools in the city.