A ballooning budget deficit, coupled with lower-than-projected enrollment, is forcing New Orleans’ sole “traditional” public school to reconsider its operational model.
“Despite loud public support last year for the Orleans Parish School Board to open the district’s first permanent traditional public school in nearly two decades, enrollment has lagged behind the district’s target, leaving the school with fewer students and a tighter budget than hoped,” writes Georges Media’s NOLA.com.
“With the school projected to spend more than $500,000 over its budget this year, district officials warned this week that the amount is an annual deficit that could triple over the next few years to $1.5 million. The budget crunch has left Orleans Parish School Board members at a crossroads.”
As previously reported by The Lion, the city revamped its educational system after Hurricane Katrina – converting most of its former public schools into charter schools.
Today Leah Chase School is the only public institution overseen by the local school board.
