Seventeen state-run charter schools in the Recovery School District will decide in the next two months whether to switch to the oversight of the Orleans Parish School Board. A list of eligible schools will be presented at a state education board meeting Wednesday.
Last year, many charter schools who were able to move turned that deal down, because it would mean they would lose their status as independent districts. That problem has since been resolved; a new law lets them stay independent.
But some educators are still wary. They remember the school board before Hurricane Katrina: filled with financial missteps, corruption and infighting.
And they say recent spats over race and power among sitting board members give them pause.
But school board staff say they’ve come a long way since Katrina. Test scores are up, and they’ll hire a new superintendent soon.
Charters must inform the state board of their decision by January 2.
