The nominating committee charged with finding new board members for the embattled Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans charter school begins the second round of its search Tuesday night. I’ll live-blog the meeting below.
A reopened application process yielded 22 applicants, some of whom also were in the initial pool of 29.
In preparation for July, when the board will turn over completely, the committee has been working to vet and recommend new members. Earlier this month the board approved five of the six members recommended by the committee.
The current board has five members, but is required by state law to have at least seven. The board’s bylaws allow up to 11 members. And terms are staggered as explained here:
- Three board seats are for one-year terms.
- Three are for two-year terms.
- Three seats are for three-year terms.
- And if two more seats are added, one will be for a three-year term and the other for a two-year term.
Because the committee only recommended six people, one shy of the state requirement, the board reopened the application process. The committee put out a call for applicants with knowledge of finance, fundraising or facilities. To round out the board, the committee also indicated a receptiveness to applicants with knowledge of the French curriculum and/or prior charter school-board experience.
According to their resumes, the current crop of applicants includes several certified public accountants and lawyers, an architect, charter school workers, others with public relations experience, and several parents. With the addition of five board members this month, parents no longer comprise a board majority. None of the new board members are parents of Lycée students.
Current board chairman Jean Montes applied in the first round, but was not granted an interview. He is not among current applicants.
The committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the school’s 5951 Patton St. campus, according to the agenda.