Sojourner Truth Academy is striving to finish strong, with 46 of 47 seniors set to graduate and the school meeting all deadlines as it prepares to close its doors and go out of business, the board learned at its monthly meeting, May 15. The school lost its charter and is being closed for failure to […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Network's budget hearing set for Thursday
The Capital One – New Beginnings Charter School Network is holding a public hearing on the budgets for its four schools Thursday at noon. A quick overview of the budgets can be seen below. We apologize for the quality; we’re working to get a higher-quality and more detailed set of budget documents. The two-hour hearing […]
Posted inSchools
Like the old days: School Board meeting descends into chaos
In what was likely the most tumultuous Orleans Parish School Board meeting held since the board’s contentious pre-Hurricane Katrina days, members Tuesday night stopped arguing among themselves and with some audience members long enough to raise the city’s property tax modestly and appoint its interim and deputy superintendents. Undoubtedly, a major source of the turmoil […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Administrative costs back in line with state regs; enrollment holding strong
Reporting to the school’s board of directors at their monthly meeting, May 15, chief financial officer Catrina Reed said James M. Singleton Charter next year will be in compliance with state rules that limit administrative costs to 30 percent of the budget. The state Department of Education had notified the school last year that it […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Johnson and Hedge-Morrell continue City Council stalemate
Continuing a legislative stalemate, two members were absent from a specially called New Orleans City Council meeting Wednesday morning, preventing the four members present from conducting council business. Those present are concerned that city business, from the mundane to the important, will continue to be stalled if Council members Jon Johnson and Cynthia Hedge-Morrell don’t […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
New firm selected to design schoolhouse; public meeting on budget slated
Addressing Lake Forest Elementary’s board of directors at their monthly meeting, May 15, principal Mardele Early expressed frustration that results of the state’s standardized LEAP tests still weren’t available. They were scheduled for release on May 18, five day’s before the school’s last day of classes. “I don’t know why they wait so long to […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
ISL 2012-13 budget available for review
The ISL finance committee will hold budget hearings at 4pm this afternoon during the Finance Committee meeting at the Camp St. campus. The public may inspect ISL’s Budget Review document here, as well as the entire proposed 2012-13 budget here.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
GOP strategist saw gay marriage shift gaining momentum
In light of my last post on President Obama’s repositioning in support of gay-marriage rights, I found this recent GOP strategy memo fascinating. It’s from President George W. Bush’s 2004 pollster, Jan R. van Lohuizen. Within a few years of Bush’s re-election victory – after a campaign heavy with anti-gay-marriage tub-thumping, van Lohuizen crunched the […]
Posted inSchools
Algiers charter board meets in private building with little notice
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | The board of trustees for the Algiers Charter School Association met Monday night to discuss their chief executive officer’s departure – but it didn’t notify the news media of the meeting and they held it at a private office building in the Central Business District. Shortly after […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board irked by last-minute salary hikes; withholds approval of admin raises
At their monthly meeting, May 10, Success Preparatory Academy board members approved teacher pay raises and new hires for next year, but postponed approving raises for administrators until the school’s finance committee has reviewed the details. Board members expressed frustration with next year’s budget numbers, noting that they had approved an extra $100,000 to fund two new […]