State schools Superintendent John White has taken the unusual step of offering the state’s help to the troubled charter school Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orleans, as it goes about searching for a new leader, according to a letter he sent to the school. White said he’s helped secure private money to pay for a consulting company, […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
RSD: Landry and its F grade will dissolve in merger with Walker
For months, officials have described the planned merger between West Bank rivals O. Perry Walker and L.B. Landry high schools as a “unification.” The new school could have an ecumenical new name: “Landry Walker High School,” planners said. Graduating seniors from the class of 2014 could choose Landry rings or Walker rings. And together students […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Jindal gaining reputation for punishing those who stand in his way
One October evening at the Chimes restaurant in Baton Rouge, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco leaned across the table to Robert Mann. “You do have tenure, don’t you?” Mann, a communications professor at Louisiana State University, gets that ominous question just about every day. Mann does indeed have tenure, meaning LSU officials cannot terminate him without […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Miller-McCoy board explores new retirement investment plan
Board members for the Miller-McCoy Academy for Mathematics and Business on Monday received an update on the school’s move toward adopting a new retirement investment plan for its employees. Board finance committee members said they want to find the best option for the school’s longest-serving employees and has looked at what other local charter schools […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
ENCORE Academy decides to remain on Marengo Street 2013-14
ENCORE Academy will remain in its building for another year, giving the board more time to discuss adding priority zip codes to its charter and allowing the school to easily manage its own enrollment process for the additional year. “We’ve been invited to stay in this building another year,” school leader Terri Smith told the […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Audit: Lusher employee embezzled $25,000 from school
An employee in the accounting department at Lusher Charter School embezzled $25,000 last school year by forging five checks she wrote to herself from the school’s bank account, according to an audit report obtained by The Lens. The audit report doesn’t identify the “high ranking employee in the Business Office,” who was ultimately fired. Nor […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Fired Lycée teacher sues school leaders for character defamation
A teacher who was fired from Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans Charter is suing the school and two of its leaders, saying they damaged her reputation after they had an officer escort her from campus last month. Darleen Mipro, 39, was charged with criminal trespassing and disturbing the peace on Nov. 30, when she says […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
With Letten gone, ’tis the season for intrigue and wild rumors
Mob boss Carlos Marcello. Wikimedia It’s transition time at the local U.S. attorney’s office, now that Jim Letten, the nation’s longest-serving federal prosecutor, and his top three lieutenants have retired in the wake of a scandal involving anonymous online comments. No doubt candidates aspiring to replace Letten have quietly expressed interest to U.S. Sen. Mary […]
Posted inSchools
OPSB gives some charters more time on common enrollment
A common enrollment process for Orleans Parish School Board charters? Eventually, the local board decided Tuesday night. The conversation surrounding common enrollment Tuesday night was dominated by confusion on all sides. Here’s what happened: Board members seemed ready to approve the proposed policy, which mandated that all charters participate in a common enrollment process by […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Audubon leaders still worry Lusher will grab Allen building
Audubon Charter School officials on Saturday were still feeling the sting. Two days earlier, an Orleans Parish School Board committee discussed whether to give the Henry W. Allen School building to Lusher Charter School. It’s a facility Audubon officials say they’ve long had their eye on for their own campus. Though Orleans Parish board members […]