This renewed tax will allow each New Orleans public school, the majority of which operate as independent charters, to establish and manage an account to support its maintenance needs. This would allow schools to direct their own maintenance projects, however, schools will not necessarily be given cart blanche in terms of spending. Instead, the money will earmarked specifically for larger, more costly repairs such as roof or boiler replacements.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and State Senator Karen Carter Peterson, a Democrat representing New Orleans and the fifth district, supported the proposition, as did a number of local civic organizations, including the Urban League of Greater New Orleans and the New Orleans Business Council. However, many throughout the community opposed the measure as it also includes the controversial Recovery School District.

The Recovery School District, a state agency established in 2003 by the Louisiana Department of Education to intervene in the management of low-performing schools, will also receive a portion of the proposition funding. This was a primary point of contention for many opponents who maintain that improved schools should return to local control. The Recovery School District took over almost 80 percent of the community’s schools following Hurricane Katrina and currently maintains control over 68 schools within the community.

Both the Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School Board will now be required to hire staff and establish offices to manage a central account that will administer emergency repair funds. Should their own coffers prove insufficient, schools can seek additional funding from these central accounts in the event of a maintenance emergency. These offices will also ensure schools are spending proposition funds on projects that meet proposition requirements.

Though the 80-campus community is also benefitting from $1.8 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds for school construction, not all schools will be impacted by the money, which does not cover upkeep.
 

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This master plan is the combined effort of the RSD and the Orleans Parish School Board. Baton Rouge-based CSRS and Jacobs Engineering are in charge of construction coordination, which would produce 86 new and renovated school campuses throughout the city. The school district renewed the contract with CSRS and Jacobs for three years and $28 million in early June.

The decision to cut the contract between the IG and the RSD short was reached by both sides, according to Ed Quatrevaux, New Orleans inspector general. He said the RSD restricted access to records and wrongfully placed district attorneys in all meetings between the IG’s and RSD’s staff and contractors. These actions were a breach of the contract and a factor contributing to its termination.

The main issue that caused the contract’s termination, however, was the difficulty encountered in funding it. Although the IG and RSD met several times throughout the year to discuss the funding and scope of the project, nothing was agreed upon. They originally wanted to have a complete fraud oversight contract for construction projects, which would have included screening vendors, developing a code of conduct and addressing complaints.

The school district already has contracts for fraud oversight in place, however, with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. These preexisting contracts made the third contract with the RSD repetitive and costly, according to Patrick Dobard, RSD Superintendent.

High bids for school construction projects have been steadily streaming in, and cutbacks in the master plan might need to be made. Dobard told press that the school district planned to use the money for other parts of the plan, “to serve the children of New Orleans.”
 

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The approximately $23 million contract will charge the partnership with overseeing the $1.8 billion master plan, funded by FEMA, for the community. Since funding began for the revitalization efforts, there have been six new elementary schools constructed and three elementary schools have undergone significant renovations. But there is still an enormous need for more facilities, according to Lona Edwards Hankins, executive director of major capital projects.

“We are still recovering from the damage that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of these were built before WWII,” she said. “We have many buildings operating that were built between 1920 and 1940 and at least one that is over 160 years old.”

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in the summer of 2005, approximately 110 of the 126 schools in the city were either completely destroyed or severely damaged. The master plan, a joint effort between the Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School board, aims to bring thriving schools to the wounded city and change the educational climate in New Orleans.

“A program of this size and complexity has multiple challenges,” Hankins said. “The largest one we have is balancing the demand by the community to quickly deliver these schools and to keep cost under control, to ensure that we are not competing against ourselves for good general contractors in a market that had minimal construction occurring prior to Katrina.”

The Jacobs/CSRS partnership will provide project and construction management, including Disaster Recovery Services which administer funding reimbursements from FEMA and the Community Development Block Grant. The Orleans Parish School board also holds a contract with Jacobs/CSRS of about $8 million.

Of the 10 firms that applied for the contract, Skanska, headquartered in Sweden, and Vanir Heery, comprised of Sacramento, Calif.-headquarterd Vanir Construction Management Inc. and Heery International, with offices in New Orleans, were also finalists that interviewed with the five-seat selection committee. This will be the third time the district renews its contract with the Jacobs/CSRS partnership, which has been managing projects of the master plan since 2007.

“This was done after a highly competitive process where eight firms were scored,” Hankins said. “The selection committee felt they were best suited to complete the final phase of the adopted School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish.”

The master plan is updated every two years in order to accommodate any changes in population. The next update is due this July. However, officials are hoping this will be the final contract needed in order to bring a transformed school system to the city by 2016 with 80 new buildings.

But along with new school buildings, the schools are also implementing new spaces and tech-friendly features. Along with incorporating multipurpose areas, such as the Convocation Center at Carver High School, new plans also include flexible interconnecting black box theaters, band rooms and choir rooms, Hankins said. New modern facilities will also support digital learning and teaching strategies.

“We are accommodating the trends in education to move toward blended learning, wireless access and electronic white boards,” Hankins said.

Little Woods, Colton and Frantz Elementary schools will be opening this summer while Drew Elementary, Sophie B Wright High School and McDonogh 42 are undergoing renovations. Eight new schools in the district will also be in construction this year and seven schools are currently in the design phase.
 

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