Benjamin Franklin himself might have reveled in this irony: Ben Franklin High School is saving on energy costs. The Advocates for Academic Excellence in Education Inc., the charter school board governing Benjamin Franklin High School, held a short meeting on Dec. 15, during which Allison Bent, director of accounting and fiscal services, said the school […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sheriff: Jail will have more inmates in 2012
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman expects to increase the number of inmates in his jail from 3,100 to 3,400 next year, he said during a public hearing Friday. Gusman confirmed the expected increase even as an advisory group assembled by Mayor Mitch Landrieu is working to set […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Board meeting agenda released
Review the Milestone/SABIS board meeting agenda here.
Posted inLand Use
All-but-certain loans and grants aimed at reviving key intersection in Broadmoor
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | Some corners in this city tell quintessentially New Orleans stories, and among them is the intersection of South Broad Street and Washington Avenue. There on the trafficky Broadmoor bend, King’s Meat Market and Grocery sells gumbo-ready mixes of seasoned poultry parts named for whichever store employee or […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Meeting agenda released
Tomorrow’s board meeting agenda is now available, and may be reviewed here.
Posted inOpinion
Saluting Occupy NOLA, a movement as quirky as our schizoid city
A march in October launches the News Orleans chapter of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Photo by Matt Davis By Tiffany Marceaux, The Lens contributing opinion writer | On Oct. 6 I arrived at Duncan Plaza for Occupy NOLA’s first General Assembly with revolution in my heart. And I wasn’t the only one. Nearly 400 […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Neighbors prevail as city strips permit from Treme mansion's oversized pool house
Treme resident Stephen Kennedy built the fence to keep construction workers off his property as an illegally large pool house rose in a neighbor’s yard. Photo by Karen Gadbois By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | The last thing Treme resident Stephen Kennedy expected was to be handcuffed by the police in his own […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
OPSB urged to hand over FEMA money owed since Katrina; Moodle courses kick in
Sophie B. Wright Charter School has hired an attorney in its nearly six-year effort to get the Orleans Parish School Board to hand over FEMA money due to the school for damage sustained in Hurricane Katrina. The sum of money, as yet of uncertain size, is needed for building renovations, and a resolution seems to […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Teachers group secures help with school discipline; audit largely flawless
The group of disgruntled McDonogh City Park Academy teachers who attended last month’s board meeting to ask for help with student discipline seems to have been satisfied. As detailed at the board’s monthly meeting, Dec. 13, the day after the November meeting the teachers and administrators agreed on several school-wide measures. Board members Emily Waterfield […]
Posted inSchools
Sojourner Truth charter gets one-two punch; teachers leaving before doors shuttered
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | Citing discontent with the current administration, at least five teachers or staffers at a doomed charter school have already resigned or have plans to not return after the Christmas holidays, The Lens has learned. Parents and students at Sojourner Truth Academy were told last month that the […]