Algiers Charter Schools Association CEO Adrian Morgan announced Thursday night that Martin Berhman Charter School of Creative Arts and Sciences may get a new building under the Recovery School District’s master plan.

Berhman, currently located on Opelousas Avenue in Old Algiers, would move to new construction on Patterson Drive between Thayer Street and Atlantic Street, currently a lot housing an abandoned condominium. The new location is only blocks from the current school, which the RSD says will cost more to renovate than replace.

Morgan’s announcement came on the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina when many schools still find themselves in modular classrooms. None of the Algiers Charter Schools Association schools is currently housed in trailers, though the RSD’s announcement puts them at the top of a long list of schools awaiting facility updates.

Board president Colin Brooks said they do not have much insight into the RSD’s decision making, but cited “the school’s size and enrollment” as potential reasons for the new building.  Morgan said the board has very little information and hopes to hold public hearings in September when there is more to report.

The board also voted to approve the 2013-2014 budget. The board held a public hearing on July 31.

Chief Financial Officer Charlie Mackles said the $42.4 million budget includes an enrollment of 4,019 students.

Mackles said that what the school pays to the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana rose by 11 percent this year and that the school had to factor in new expenses like water bills and a truancy fee paid to the RSD to fund truancy enforcement district wide.