Recap of the RSD’s Second Public Meeting on School Building Assignments

On Wednesday, January 13 the Recovery School District (RSD) held its second of five public meetings on the proposed building assignments for school programs in New Orleans.  This meeting focused on schools and communities in City Council District B, and was held at Andrew Wilson Elementary.  Approximately 200 people attended, including Lourdes Moran of the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and representatives from several charter schools and neighborhood organizations.  Like the first meeting, it began with a presentation by RSD officials, followed by a public comment period.

RSD Communications Director Ken Jones ran the meeting, and began by noting that the meeting would cover only RSD schools, not OPSB schools.  Jones then introduced Lona Hankins, the RSD’s Director of Capital Projects, who gave an overview of the School Facilities Master Plan (SFMP).  She discussed the elements that went into the original planning, the phases of the plan, and the impact of demographics on the plan.  On this point, Ms. Hankins noted that the SFMP was based on a “moderate” projection of future student population, but new data shows that we are trending toward the “high” projection.  This growth will be factored into the upcoming amendments to the SFMP, for which there will be further meetings in February and March before the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) vote on the amendments in April.  Ms. Hankins then outlined the plan’s phases – we are currently in Group 1 of Phase 1 (out of 6 phases) – and the status of each school site, whether in construction, stabilization, mothballing, or demolition.  For more details of the presentation, including the timeline for amendments to the SFMP, click here to see the RSD’s powerpoint.  Finally, Ms. Hankins added that information on OPSB school projects, in addition to RSD projects, is now available on the main SFMP website, www.rebuildingnolaschools.com.

Next, RSD Deputy Superintendent for Operations Ramsey Green spoke on school building assignments in City Council District B.  He defined the terms landbanked and landbanked-occupied, and assured the audience that the RSD would not take kids out of a building currently set for landbanking building and put them into a worse building.  Mr. Green then outlined the factors considered in building assignments and recommendations, and showed a chart of draft assignments for projects in Council District B.  Click here to see this presentation and the District B assignments.

In the lengthy public comment period that followed, 50 community members spoke.  First, a representative from Councilwoman Stacy Head’s office read a letter from the councilwoman thanking the RSD for their good work and expressing her concerns:  she is opposed to landbanking Samuel J. Green Charter School; she feels that Freret-area businesses and neighborhoods should be included in discussing the fate of Our Lady of Lourdes; and she supports rehabilitating Booker T. Washington, locating Sci High near the new VA hospital, and renovating the Rabouin building for the International High School.

Next, dozens of people spoke to express their views on various schools, school sites and neighborhoods.  Many speakers urged the RSD to move the renovation of Sophie B. Wright from Phase 5 up to Phase 2.  School staff, students, and neighbors all spoke of how well the school is doing, but said it is held back by poor facilities and renovations are urgently needed.  One speaker said that the school can only use 2/3 of the building space because of problems like termite damage and asbestos.  Many people also spoke in support of having Lafayette Academy to expand to the Mary Church Terrell site.  Members of the Lafayette school community, the Gert Town neighborhood, and Xavier University urged the RSD to allow this,stressing the success of the Lafayette school and how good its expansion into Terrell would be for the neighborhood.  One speaker noted that the Terrell facility was not that old, only about 40 years, and had the advantage of being built to accommodate special needs students.

Samuel J. Green Charter School was another school with much support.  It is currently set to be landbanked, so many community members asked the RSD to instead leave Green where it is and renovate it.  They cited the Edible Schoolyard, the lift it brought to the neighborhood, and other indicators of success as reasons to preserve and improve Green.  Morris Jeff Community School supporters were also in attendance, asking the RSD to make the Fisk-Howard site in Mid-City the permanent home of Morris Jeff.

Many people spoke in support of building a new school in the Hoffman Triangle neighborhood.  They cited the new residential construction and the readiness of the New Orleans College Prep charter management organization to open a school there.  Supporters of Booker T. Washington school also urged the RSD to accelerate the movement of New Orleans College Prep into BTW by renovating the current building rather than rebuilding it completely as is currently scheduled.

Supporters of New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School (Sci High) expressed their interest in moving to the new biomedical corridor in lower Mid-City, while two other schools stated their desire to occupy Sci High’s current building, the former Allen facility, in the event that Sci High moves.  Representatives from both Audubon Charter School and Lusher Charter School asked the RSD for the Allen site if it becomes available.

Finally, a few commenters were there to speak more broadly than on just one or two schools.  One gentleman spoke on behalf of State Senator Karen Carter Peterson, saying she is in favor of putting a school in the Mary Church Terrell site, of moving Sophie B. Wright up to Phase 2, of not landbanking Green, and of moving Sci High to the biomedical corridor.  Another speaker cited the Arthur Ashe site and asked that the RSD not leave KaBoom playgrounds at unused facilities, but rather move them to schools where they will be used.  A Xavier University political science professor spoke on demographics, saying that census data shows that the number of 12-15 year olds in Central City is booming, and that students from that area, Gert Town, Hollygrove, and Hoffman Triangle all need schools as soon as possible.

Following the public comment period, Mr. Green of the RSD briefly responded to each comment and issue. He said that the RSD is taking these comments very seriously and looking at the latest demographic numbers as they reevaluate each project’s place in the SFMP.  Regarding Booker T. Washington, Mr. Green stated that they held a community meeting during initial planning, and since a renovation was $76 million while new construction was $60 million, the community favored a new building, which the RSD is working on.  He said that solutions for Wright and Green are both tricky because they are OPSB buildings housing RSD charter schools, but they are working on it.  The Allen site is similarly tricky because it is an RSD site in the SFMP with two OPSB schools interested in it.  Mr. Green also added that yes, the RSD will move KaBoom playgrounds when necessary.  Lastly, he thanked everyone in attendance for their passion and input, and brought the meeting to a close.

At this meeting there was a wide cross-section of the community, with parents, teachers, students, school neighbors, alumni, and representatives from government, universities, religious organizations and other stakeholders all present.  They were informed, engaged, and made their voices heard on behalf of schools and students of New Orleans.  Likewise, RSD officials were informative and responsive.  We look forward to the remaining school facility meetings having as good a community dialogue as this one.

The remaining meeting dates and places are as follows (all meetings begin at 6 p.m.):
Jan. 18, District C, Joseph Craig Elementary, 1423 St. Philip Ave.
Jan. 25, District D, Lake Area (Greater Gentilly) School, 6026 Paris Ave.
Jan. 27, District E, H.C. Schaumburg School, 9501 Grant St.

The Cowen Institute will continue to have representatives at these meetings and will report on each.