Lycee Francais' new St. Francis of Assisi campus on State Street. (UptownMessenger.com file photo by Sabree Hill)
The school expects to have 350 students next year, up from a reported 127 this past year. It will expand the number of preschool sections from four to seven, admit all applicants to kindergarten for a class of 110, grow its first grade to 70 students and add on a second grade of 30 students, board president Jean Montes said during Monday night’s board meeting.
The school’s total budget will be slightly more than $3 million, with an operating surplus of just less than $50,000, said business manager David Bedell during a brief review of the 2012-13 budget. The board did not discuss the budget in detail, and when asked during the meeting whether the budget had been properly advertised according to state open-meetings laws, Montes replied that the board is researching which exact requirements apply to Lycee’s type of charter school.
The school’s move to the St. Francis of Assisi campus at State and Patton streets dominated most aspects of Monday’s board meeting. Books, furniture and supplies have been ordered, and the school administration is weighing options for to provide lunches. Michelle Elise, a resident of the neighborhood near the school, asked about the traffic and carpool plans for the campus, and the board invited her to serve on a committee coordinating traffic issues with the church.
General Director Jean Jacques Grandiere is in France this month, discussing possibilities for additional support for the school from French education officials, Montes noted. Meanwhile, the school is in the final stages of negotiations with the Audubon Institute over a partnership that will allow ongoing classes at the zoo next year, Montes said.
One other issue — Montes’ proposal that the board hire consultants for formal training in governance issues — also remains on the table, as Montes said the other board members continue to consider it.
To read our live coverage of Monday’s meeting, see the box below.
Well, let’s add violation of the requirement for public boards to give 10 days notice of a public hearing on budgets to Lycee’s list of infractions (as I understand it this requirement applies to Type 2 Charter Schools as well). Dr. Montes indicated the board was looking in to rules for their “type” of charter school. One would wonder…if there was a question about how the board should handle the ratification of the budget, why the budget issue was not tabled until the situation was clarified. Public funding from tax payer money is the reason public boards are held to this requirement. Perhaps it was more important for Lycee’s board to ratify the budget without public review or comment than it was to handle the situation correctly…and I will venture legally. I am still trying to figure out why anyone would think a charter school’s budget requirements would be handled any differently. This requirement of notice of a public budget hearing for Charter Schools was a big topic of conversation by the Lens (Picayune) at the beginning of this school year. I am not sure how Lycee’s Board missed it. Public Funds = Public Input.
Charter Schools (all of them) are bound by the:
Local Government Budget Act (LGBA) R.S. 39:1301-1
http://www.lla.state.la.us/userfiles/file/LGBA.pdf
NOla,
You just hit another example of how much board training is needed. And according to this article, it is questionable now if that is going to happen. This board continues to disappoint. They are lucky they have such nice patient families, but these families will only be able to put up with so much of this board’s: non transparency, illigal mistakes and decisions made to promote personal self interests for so long. If it is proven that this school is misusing public funds, and being non compliant regarding its diversity numbers, free and reduced lunch kids, and kids with specail needs ( and this does not just include kids with speech issues or those who are gifted) for a second year in a row,(and it will come out )It will be the families and the kids attending this school who will get hurt. Shame on you LFNO board Again. When are you going to learn to follow the rules like everyone else. You are a public school, using public funds and that is should be considered a priveledge. Please respect this.
Wow! Once again this board acts illegally and unethically! No surprise!
BESE when will you decide to care? Where is the oversight? A bunch of criminals.
They don’t want anyone to see the budget because they don’t want people to see the contracts being handed over to friends.
And what contracts are you speaking about? You can’t just throw out a statement like that and not back it up.
I would be careful what you ask for because one day you may get your answer, and rue the day you asked.
The next board meeting is July 9th.
I pretty much check the pages of nola.com, uptown messenger & the lens several times a week, along with other news reporting sites. With the upcoming budgets due (6/30?) to the DOE by all charter schools shouldn’t there be listings for their budget approval meetings appearing online or posted somewhere even by smoke signal? I have never seen a notice for KIPP, ISL, Audubon or any other school as of yet. Why are you guys beating the drum for this school and they may or may not be doing correctly? Shouldn’t you be screaming from the hilltops about all charter schools and what they have and have not done yet?
Hey if I’m wrong and notices have been posted then great, I’m glad other schools are moving forward with their agendas correctly. Hopefully Lycee can use them as an example on what to do administratively. Is the board blatantly breaking laws? Are they choosing their own path w/out consulting the powers that be for the state? I find that hard to believe regardless of all the comments about wrong doing that is going on.
I’m convinced that all of these commenters are Chinese nationals that are being paid to circulate negative comments to generate misinformation about a school that is loved by parents, students, and neighbors.
After reading your comment, I can understand why “IBCrazy” is an appropriate user name for you.
Why would French education officials give any money to Lucee which is not a French accreditated school?
Ignorance is no excuse for violating state law. I was appalled, but not surprised, to read the continuation of the latest LFNO board saga in the Uptown Messenger report. Charter school boards are required to know the law in regard to the budgeting process, and once again, the board has violated the public’s trust by not giving public notice 10 days in advance for the discussion and adoption of its school budget. Perhaps this board believes it is operating a private school? That may be the answer to this problem. Type 2 charter schools are no different than other public schools when it comes to handling taxpayer dollars and knowledge of state law. Who are you trying to snow Mr. Chairman? Your nice guy charm does nothing for me. It is an abomination that this board should continue to thumb its nose in contempt for state law and the public. Just how long should these irresponsible board practices be tolerated? Fumbling with taxpayer monies while learning on the job is not acceptable. If this happened in the private sector, the LFNO board members would have been fired for incompetency a long time ago. When is this board finally going to conduct business within the confines of state law and its charter? Does anyone believe that any board training at this late date will rectify this situation? I forgot, according to this article, additional board training is still being considered. For some, there is still hope. It is lost for me.
I blame BESE and the State Department of Education for ignoring its responsibilities to oversee “rogue” charter school boards who have no concept of how to handle taxpayer business, and maybe LFNO is just the tip of the charter school iceberg, given its infant status. It is high time that someone investigates what is happening within our charter schools’ “hallowed” halls. Maybe finding a legal remedy is the only solution to board problems since state officials are so noticeably absent on the job.
In closing, how does anyone believe that this board could have effectively evaluated its school principal? Oh that’s right, these board members are experts in state law, school budgeting, best board practices, and better yet, daily micromanagement of a school. How could we be so lucky?
I do hope you attend the BESE meeting!