As its takeover of Pride College Prep looms, ARISE Academy’s board and school administrators met with Recovery School District officials to discuss facilities and operational/contractual questions at its monthly meeting, Jan. 16.

Lona Hankins, RSD’s director of capital improvements, told the board that all interior construction at the Mildred Osborne campus, Pride’s current quarters, will be completed next month. Furthermore, all materials and supplies currently in use by Pride will belong to ARISE when it assumes control of the facility.

Hankins added that RSD could not provide monthly utility costs for the new facility since its current occupants have not yet been billed due to ongoing construction, although she assured the board that ARISE would not be liable for past due bills incurred by Pride.

Peter Gyenis, RSD’s Osborne building manager, said that the building’s one year warranty will commence once there is substantial completion and the space is turned over to Pride next month. He urged ARISE school officials to communicate with Pride administrators over any repairs or damage at the school.

In other facility related news, ARISE principal Andrew Shahan announced that RSD officials had informed him that the school would not be moving to Carver Elementary during renovations at its current space.

Instead, ARISE will move across the street to the Douglas building, currently occupied by KIPP New Orleans Leadership Academy.

Shahan and his leadership team will meet with Tiffany Delcour, Operations Chief of Staff, Director of Environmental Quality of the RSD on January 24 to discuss logistics and facility operations.

In school news, Shahan told the board that ARISE schools will have on-site psychologists interns for the 2013-2014 school year. Working with the Louisiana School Psychology Internship Consortium and the Louisiana State University Human Development Center, interns will counsel, intervene, evaluate and support students for success.

Lastly, the board announced that it was considering working with The High Bar, a web-based software that provides training to charter school boards nationwide. The board will meet with would speak to Marci Cornell-Fiest, founder/chief executive of The High Bar on Janaury 31 to further discuss the issue.

The meeting began at 6:00 p.m. and adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Members Jen Walcott, Katie Beck, Larry Eustis, Candice Frazier, Miles Granderson, Tom Snedeker and Elaine Reyes were present.

The next board meeting is February 20 at  6:00 p.m.