Recapping the fifth RSD facilities assignment meeting

On Tuesday, February 1, the Recovery School District (RSD) held its fifth and final public meeting on the proposed building assignments for school programs in New Orleans.  The meeting was held at H.C. Schaumburg Elementary School and focused on schools and communities in City Council District E.  (Click here to see the facilities assignments for District E.)  Over 150 people were in attendance, including State Senator Cynthia Willard-Lewis, City Councilmember Jon Johnson, and representatives from several schools and neighborhood organizations.

 As with the previous meetings, RSD officials began by giving a short presentation on the history of the School Facilities Master Plan and an overview of the projects in the plan.  RSD officials also spoke about a process to make possible amendments to the master plan in the coming months.  In February, district officials will begin analyzing the new demographic data released in January.  Also, groups of national consultants and local subject matter experts will meet throughout the next month.  In March, recommendations will be made to the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) about possible amendments.  In April, the RSD will hold five meetings for public comment.  Finally, in May final drafts of the amendments will be submitted to OPSB and BESE, both of which must approve the amendments before they are adopted. 

 Senator Willard-Lewis and Councilman Johnson each made an opening statement expressing their interest in hearing from the attendees.

 The public comment period followed.  The theme that was most often repeated throughout the comment period was that it is taking too long to get students into permanent facilities.  Many speakers asked the RSD officials when children were going to have good buildings.  With respect to individual schools, the majority of comments focused on three schools in District E that are currently in modular buildings.  Several speakers spoke about the need for the Intercultural Charter School (ICS), Miller-McCoy Academy, and New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy (“Sci Academy”) to be moved out of modular buildings and into permanent homes as quickly as possible.  Representatives from these three schools indicated that the modular buildings that house their schools were in bad condition. Members of the ICS community indicated that they would like for their school to be located at the Sherwood Forest site.  Members of the Miller-McCoy community spoke about the success of their school and the need for a permanent building to help further the academic performance of students.  A representative from Sci Academy indicated that they like their current site (but not the modular buildings).  This representative also asked that RSD officials consider designing smaller buildings to accommodate schools that wish to stay small. 

 A member of the Reed Elementary community also spoke about the bad condition of their modular buildings and asked when a permanent facility would be ready for that school.

 Another theme that was repeated by several speakers was the need for schools in the Upper and Lower Ninth Ward.  More than one person spoke about the need for additional school buildings in the Lower Ninth Ward; some of these speakers also mentioned that too few resources were being dedicated to the Lower Ninth Ward given the amount of the FEMA settlement attributable to damaged buildings there.  Representatives from the Upper Ninth Ward spoke to the need for schools in that area as well.  Specifically, the need to open Carver High School and the need for an elementary school to serve the Desire community were mentioned.

 At the close of the public comment period, Senator Willard-Lewis spoke again.  She said that she has seen first-hand the bad conditions in the modulars and that students should not be in these facilities any longer.  Councilmember Johnson also spoke again.  He said that all elected officials that represent the area were on the same page and that rebuilding in areas downtown seems to be moving more slowly than in other areas.

 As has been the pattern at the other meetings on facilities assignments, the meeting closed with a response from RSD officials.  Ramsey Green, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, responded to specific comments.  He said that Livingston (the permanent location for Miller-McCoy) and Little Woods (the permanent location for Reed Elementary) are both Phase 1 schools and should be ready for occupancy at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year.  He also said that they heard the support from the ICS community for the Sherwood Forest site.  With respect to Sci Academy, he recognized that there is a “hole” in the master plan.  He said that the RSD is working to find a site and that the amendments that are planned for this spring will address Sci Academy’s need for a building.  Green also said that there are two schools in the Upper Ninth Ward, Frantz and Moton, in Phase 1 of the master plan.  As for the Lower Ninth Ward, he said that the district is aware of the need to make a decision about school facilities there.

 For more on the meeting at Greater Gentilly, see this Times-Picayune article.  For more on the School Facilities Master Plan, see www.rebuildingnolaschools.com.  And to read our reports on the previous three meetings, click the following:  District A, District B, District C, and District D.