Accusations that the Recovery School District overloaded Joseph Craig Elementary School with special-needs students was a focus of the Nov. 13 meeting of Friends of King Schools, the board responsible for Craig as well as for Martin Luther King Science and Technology Charter School. Officials estimate close to 100 Craig students have special needs and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Investigations
State PSC considers lowering ‘sinful’ prison phone rates
Fannie McKnight can no longer accept phone calls from her son. It’s a decision she made with a heavy heart. After he was booked into Orleans Parish Prison, McKnight, 72, deposited money into a phone account that was debited every time they talked. But because the per-minute rates were so high, the account emptied faster than […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Seven staff cuts put budget in the black, but renewal of school charter still iffy
Eliminating seven staff positions will bring the budget for the current year into the black, chief financial officer Tom Slager advised the Intercultural Charter School board at its monthly meeting on Monday night. Intercultural’s projected budget was based on an enrollment 34 students higher than turned up. Decreasing payroll by about $400,000 will more than […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
BESE tackles OneApp and Lycee issues, delays governance choice
State education officials held their quarterly meeting Wednesday night in New Orleans. photo: Jessica Williams As proponents of the Recovery School District’s unified enrollment process contend, parents should be able to fill out one application to enroll their kids in any of the city’s numerous charter schools. It eases their burden and ensures equity across […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board revises budget, struggles with meeting laws
Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans board of directors struggled to comply with state open records and meetings laws at its meeting Monday night, as it reduced the school’s operating budget from $3.1 million to $2.8 million. Over 100 parents and teachers were in attendance at the school’s cafeteria. Parents learned about a budget shortfall […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Bridge toll renewal issue was excluded from provisional ballots
Bridge tolls might well have been removed if 1,450 provisional ballots included the issue. Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Opponents of extending tolls on the Crescent City Connection have been asking “What if”? after learning they lost by a scant 16 votes in last week’s election. What if they had registered more people […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Angry council member declares $7M for decree monitor a ‘ripoff’
With cops looking on, Deputy Mayor Andy Kopplin defends the city’s police budget at Wednesday’s council meeting. Photo by Tom Gogola City Council Member Cynthia Hedge-Morrell told the city administration and New Orleans Police Department Wednesday afternoon that $7 million included in 2013’s budget to implement federally-mandated changes at NOPD was a “ripoff” financing “foolish […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Meeting tonight on extending deadline for governance switch
Under the state’s original timeline, 13 charter schools would have been faced with a decision on Dec. 1—little more than two weeks from now—on whether to switch to Orleans Parish School Board governance. That’s after finding out only last month that the decision was theirs to make. But under a new timeline, to be debated […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Moral of the story: Even Letten’s office wasn’t ‘untouchable’
Not long ago Jim Letten was our local Eliot Ness, here portrayed by Kevin Kostner, in “The Untouchables.” Foolish underlings have cost him that reputation. photo: Paramount file. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office is embroiled in controversy over online comments made by his top lieutenants. The team he has long-trusted has let him down during […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Squabble over pre-trial program erupts as hearings plow forward
Hum-dee-dum. Discussion over Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s proposed 2013 budget proceeded in routine fashion for much of Tuesday, with New Orleans City Council members questioning the mayor’s senior aides on ways to squeeze small savings from various programs. Things heated up in the afternoon, however, when the mayor’s office presented its plan to spend $184,000 on […]