Directors of the Benjamin Mays Preparatory School say they’re in the dark when it comes to anticipating operating costs they’ll face next semester after taking over the building formerly occupied by Frantz Elementary. That revelation was part of the discussion of next year’s budget during the board’s monthly meeting, April 30. Operating costs, including heating […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Monthly board meeting canceled because majority of members fail to show up
Only three of eight members showed up for the Treme Charter School Association’s monthly board meeting, April 28. After waiting about an hour for other members to appear, the board, which runs McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School cancelled the meeting for lack of a quorum. A message was sent to members last week in an […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Optional retirement program approved for teachers and staff; Karr and Harte remain in fold
Trustees of the Algiers Charter School Association have approved the Hartman Group as provider of the optional 403(b) retirement program for school employees. The approval, at the board’s monthly meeting, April 26, followed a state attorney general’s opinion earlier in the week that the Louisiana Constitution precludes charter schools from leaving the Teachers’ Retirement System […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Parent involvement and admission applications both high; board eyes lots near new campus
More than 200 parents participated in April’s student-led parent conferences, the highest number in the school’s history, board members learned at their April 26 monthly meeting. Preliminary application data for the coming year show high demand for Morris Jeff Community School, principal Patricia Perkins reported. One hundred thirty-four pre-kindergarten applicants made Morris Jeff their first choice. The finance […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Dream of a new school on hold; questionable utility bills and end of free rent add to woes
Robert Moton Charter School looks likely to stay put for the foreseable future, on the campus of the former St. James Major parochial school on Gentilly Boulevard. Though the school’s leased premises need repair and a search has been ongoing for a permanent site, Moton board member were annoyed to learn at their April 21 […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board vows to move forward with plans to incubate two high schools at Carver
The board of Collegiate Academies voted Thursday to move forward with its commitment to establish and run two high schools in the space previously occupied by the failing George Washington Carver High School. The transition, opposed by a Carver alumni group, is scheduled for the coming school year. The board discussed how tempers flared between the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge tells sheriff, public defenders to negotiate solution to privacy complaint
Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s attorneys were told to work with the Public Defender’s Office to find a solution to complaints over attorney-client privacy. Photo by Tom Gogola Attorneys suing Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman over what they say is a lack of confidentiality in attorney-inmate consultations were told by a judge Monday to come […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
One OPP escapee still being sought after slipping under fence Saturday night
By Tom Gogola, The Lens staff writer | One of two inmates who escaped from Orleans Parish Prison Saturday is back in custody, though authorities were still searching for the other earlier today, the Sheriff’s Office said. Sherrick Brumfield, 27, who was awaiting trial on second degree battery charges, remains free. Reginald Young, 22, was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
City Council seeks to expand CeaseFire to include more social-outreach services
By Tom Gogola, The Lens staff writer | New Orleans Crime Commissioner James Carter was called before the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee Wednesday to talk about the implementation of the city’s new CeaseFire initiative in crime-ridden Central City. He didn’t have much to talk about because the program is just getting underway, so lawmakers […]