'Historic': First Katrina state takeover school returns to New Orleans control
Almost 9 1/2 years after the Louisiana Recovery School District took over 100 New Orleans schools, the first one has moved back. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education stamped its OK in committee Tuesday (April 14) to the contract Martin Luther King Jr. Charter has signed with the Orleans Parish School Board.
The board is expected to ratify the decision Wednesday.
A couple of School Board charter groups have taken over failed Recovery charters, but this is the first time a takeover school has chosen to return -- after dozens turned down the opportunity. State Superintendent John White, Recovery Superintendent Patrick Dobard and Orleans Parish Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. all used one word to describe the day: "historic." Said Dobard, "This has been a long time coming."
Board member James Garvey of Metairie said it put the lie to critics who say the state is simply interested in taking over schools, not giving them back.
King, a B-graded charter serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, has been an anchor in the Lower 9th Ward as the neighborhood rebuilds from Hurricane Katrina. The charter's board "is excited about its new, long-term relationship with OPSB," said Tracie Washington, the Friends of King attorney.
Its road back to the School Board has not been straight. Friends of King initially voted to stay with the state again last fall. Like many other charters, members expressed concern over the School Board's political direction; Lewis started his job last month after 2 1/2 years of interim leadership.
This has been a long time coming." - RSD Superintendent Patrick Dobard
But Friends of King members changed their mind after the Recovery system sought to shorten the length of King's new contract from seven years to five due to allegations the school turned away special education students, a charge the board disputed.
King has a seven-year contract with the School Board, Orleans charter chief Kathleen Padian said. It will continue to control its own finances. And it remains in OneApp, the city's computerized school enrollment program that matches students with open seats without regard to special education status. Nine School Board charters do not use OneApp, running their own lotteries instead.
Dobard on Tuesday said King "has shown great growth and it also shows a commitment to serving all children."
Lewis said King was "returning under the same equity requirements as it's been under with the Recovery School District." He clarified later he meant simply that the school has no entrance requirements.
"When people think of OPSB they think of selective admissions," he said, even though only a few of the A-graded system's 20 schools are test-entry. King is "a school that has done well with receiving all children."
Friends of King also runs Joseph Craig Charter, a Tremé elementary that will remain in the Recovery system, having not yet met the requirements to transfer. Charters may vote to return to local control only if they have been open for at least five years and met certain academic benchmarks.'Historic': First Katrina state takeover school returns to New Orleans control | NOLA.com: