2 OPSB Press Releases

Nov 5, 2008 by

First, the notice [that I received this morning]:

ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Special Board Meeting Notice

ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD SPECIAL BOARD MEETING:
The Orleans Parish School Board will convene in a Special Board Meeting to act upon the School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish on Thursday, November 6, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of McDonogh #35 High School, 1331 Kerlerec Street.

Second, the “responsive” press release, in its entirety for those who may not’ve gotten one:

For Immediate Release Contact: Bill Rouselle
November 3, 2008 (504) 592 -1800

THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN FOR SCHOOLS
RESPONSIVE – ACCOUNTABLE – STUDENT FOCUSED

After more than a year of meetings with parents, teachers, students, elected officials, city, state and federal agencies and community groups; with evaluations by engineers, architects and urban planners; and with a series of Public Hearing during the two month Public Comment Period; the three school superintendents (Mr. Darryl Kilbert – Orleans Parish School Board / Mr. Paul Vallas – Recovery School District / Mr. Paul Pastorek – State Department of Education) will make the following recommendations to their respective boards in the coming weeks:

MORE SCHOOLS IN PHASE ONE – HELP FROM COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Based on strong input from passionate school communities and with the help of developers of new housing units at two sites close to schools that had been slated for Phase Two development, the Superintendents will recommend that Carter G. Woodson and Phyllis Wheatley be moved to Phase One of the Master Plan.

Moving these schools to Phase One is made possible with the help of and contingent [sic] on developers who have committed Tax Credits and additional financial resources to the development of physical aspects of Carter G. Woodson (near the C. J. Pete Development) and Phyllis Wheatley (near the Laffite Development). The schools will serve the anticipated families that will return to the City as these housing developments come on line.

Edward Livingston High School will also be moved to Phase One to complete the elimination of modular schools in every section of the City. In addition, the Superintendents will recommend the allocation of resources to stabilize Eleanor McMain School on its present site and to add a sorely needed gymnasium to the school facility offerings.

The additional schools moved into the first phase are made possible by building elementary schools to a smaller scale and by keeping “land banked” schools open over a longer period of time. The cost savings will provide enough resources to accommodate the additional schools in the first phase.

The Superintendents will also recommend that George Washington Carver be designated as the site for the school in the Ninth Ward. The Superintendents have also committed to working with the Lower Ninth Ward community to build a high school in that area as part of Phase Two work on the Master Plan.

It should also be noted that the Superintendents have met with the communities around the Morris Jeff School and have developed a plan that will adequately accommodate students in that neighborhood.

With $700 million dollars mostly in FEMA and CDBG funding committed to the Phase One rebuilding of schools and with the financial help of community partners, the Phase One building program will now include 32 schools and will make it possible for nearly 60% of public school students to be in newly built or completely renovated school buildings by 2014.

FINANCING THE ENTIRE FACILITIES PLAN

The Superintendents will recommend the appointment of a five member Blue Ribbon Committee to oversee the implementation of the Facilities Plan and to recruit national and local financial experts who will recommend bonding, cost savings and other financial strategies to be able to fully execute the Master Plan’s six phases over the next 20 years.

It should be noted that the Master Plan is the “Road Map” for school facilities redevelopment based on an objective analysis of projected demographic calculations over the next ten years. Each project will be included in the Capital Outlay Budget of the respective boards that oversee these schools and must be approved individually over the course of the Plan’s implementation.

Every two years the Facilities Plan calls for an official review of demographic projections at which time adjustments in the Plan’s implementation will be possible. As we sit today, no one can provide a total picture of what our population will be over the next five, ten or twenty years. Much of what happens to New Orleans’ population growth is contingent on the pace of housing restarts, citizens’ perception about crime and safety, the impact of future storms and hurricanes, and any number of additional unforeseen factors. The Plan must be flexible and must be developed to meet the needs of students returning and families living in a rebuilding City.

The Superintendents are fully committed to making sure the entire Plan is executed and results in 21st Century Educational Environment for all students by 2028!

ACCOUNTABILITY AND FISCAL INTEGRITY

To insure that the rebuilding program of New Orleans Public Schools is transparent, is fair and is implemented without fiscal or building standards violations, the Superintendents have begun discussions with the New Orleans City Council and Office of the Inspector General to have inspectors imbedded in the State Department of Education, the RSD and the OPSB with the specific responsibility of monitoring individual construction projects and identifying any criminal or unscrupulous activity.

The Inspectors will report on a quarterly basis to the State Superintendent and the general public about the execution of construction projects and will be in position to quickly and decisively curb any abuses uncovered. The school rebuilding program must be done in full view of the public and must be done without the hint of corruption.

In addition, the inspectors will be charged with monitoring the involvement of local and minority contractors in the rebuilding effort. It is critical that the rebuilding of our public schools be done in a manner that benefits all sectors of the local community and becomes an economic engine for the rebuilding of the entire City.

LAND BANKING – A KEY TOOL OF FLEXIBILITY

Many people have asked about what the phrase “Land Banking” schools means. The term was created to provide the School Districts with the greatest amount of flexibility in being able to satisfy the demographic growth of the City and accommodating children who return to the City.

Land Banking allows the district to keep schools open for a period of time, if the number of students in a particular district is greater than the projection provided by demographers. There are, however, some school buildings which will be demolished based on their deteriorated conditions and concerns that they not add to the blight that is too much a part of the City’s landscape.

Schools that have been demolished and are slated for demolition are:

Demolished:

Lawless
Abramson
Hardin
Abrams
Coghill
Edwards
Hughes
Hynes
Lake Area
Lockett
Landry
Lake Forest

To Be Demolished:

Derham
Kennedy
NO Center for Education of Adults
Banks
Lafon
Chester
Mondy
Phillips
Waters
Bradley
Gordon
Gregory
Shaw
Edison
Alexander
Banks
Bienville
Hughes Custodial Cottage
Osborne
Park View
Seabrook
Sherwood Forest
Little Woods
Livingston
Carver
Haley

The Superintendents plan to move forward with the demolition process on buildings that clearly have become eyesores in rebuilding neighborhoods. Many “land banked” buildings will continue to provide space for students as the construction program moves forward. Other buildings will be offered to government agencies or private developers to be refurbished and repurposed as we rebuild the City.

It is the intent of the Superintendents of Public Schools in New Orleans that the Facilities Rebuilding Program becomes a shinning star of the City’s rebirth and that we finally, as a community, put our children’s needs at the front of the line for the sake of our City’s future. The Superintendents all agree “Our Children Can’t Wait”!

G Bitch

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