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New Orleans school lays off 4 people, blaming district's accounting error

Staff at the Rooted School rally on Nov. 11, 2024, to demand leaders reinstate four employees who were recently laid off.
Aubri Juhasz
/
WWNO
Staff at the Rooted School rally on Nov. 11, 2024, to demand leaders reinstate four employees who were recently laid off.

We've updated this story to include information on the Rooted School's finances shared by school district officials at a board meeting on Nov. 12, 2024.

New Orleans schools don't know exactly how much money they'll lose due to an accounting error — but one has already responded by laying off staff.

NOLA Public Schools officials said last month that they accidentally inflated revenue projections shared in March. Charter leaders used those numbers to budget for this school year.

Schools could face a $36 million funding shortfall, nearly twice an earlier estimate, according to an update from the district on Friday.

The Rooted School, a high school on SUNO's campus, laid off four employees earlier this month and blamed it on the district's mistake.

"We don't even know the extent of the shortfall yet," said Dave Cash, president of the city's teachers union and a teacher at the school. "Rooted's decision was far too hasty, far too rash."

Teachers at the school unionized two years ago under United Teachers of New Orleans, and contract negotiations are ongoing.

"Rooted needed to take necessary actions due to the unanticipated reduction in funding from NOLA-PS to every Orleans Parish public school," the school's leaders said in a statement.

"This reduction required us to make difficult budget decisions in order for Rooted to remain open next year, as well as secure our future operations," the statement continues. "While we regret that we are forced to take critical actions, it is our responsibility to be stewards of our school's resources, especially when they are limited by actions we did not take or foresee."

But district officials said Tuesday that Rooted's financial issues predate the miscalculation.

The school received funding for students it no longer enrolled, said Rafael Simmons, the district's head of charter accountability. Over several years, the district gave Rooted an extra $400,000, which it's now paying back.

Based on the latest estimate, board member Olin Parker said Rooted could lose about $121,000 due to the district's error.

He said that given how much money the school already owes the district, the problem is "deeper."

In a statement, the school's leadership insisted they laid off staff because of the newly discovered shortfall.

Staff gathered outside the school early Monday to demand school leaders reinstate their laid off colleagues: the school’s directors of curriculum and student culture as well as its office manager and head custodian.

Cash said teachers and students “deserve a pause” to see how the district will respond to the gap “before we assume the worst.”

The district is still working with the city to confirm sales and property tax receipts owed to schools, according to a spokesperson.

The board's president, Katie Baudouin, and Parker, its finance committee chair, are expected to recommend actions to the full board this week to lessen the blow. They include using $5 million from the district's expected surplus from last fiscal year and up to $15 million from its fund balance to close half the gap.

Federal pandemic relief, which ended this school year, boosted the district's finances. The added funds allowed the school system to save money and grow its cushion to more than $51 million in unassigned funds.

The district said charter operators must repay the $15 million "as future sales tax revenues increase." The plan still leaves schools short $16 million.

Staff at Rooted, a small career-focused school, said Monday that its leadership prides itself on being community-driven and that the layoffs were out of character.

Ashley Jones, one of the laid-off employees, said school leaders mentioned the deficit, but there were no hints at layoffs or "talk about what this might mean for the school."

"It totally caught me off guard," Jones said.

Jones worked as Rooted's head of curriculum and instruction and was laid off on her third anniversary.

Rooted teacher Jada Lundy said part of why she came to the school was to work with Jones.

"I need her expertise and guidance," Lundy said. "She never let a moment pass without reminding me that my voice mattered and my students needed me."

The union said it was unaware of any layoffs at other schools. UTNO represents all district teachers but has recognized units at just six schools, and only half of those have a contract.

Cash, who has taught at Rooted since 2019, said the school isn't living up to its core values.

One of his favorite school mantras is "Say the thing." It means sharing how you feel even when it's difficult. Cash said that's what he's doing now.

"This isn't right," he said. "This isn't how we do things at Rooted."

Aubri Juhasz covers education, focusing on New Orleans' charter schools, school funding and other statewide issues. She also helps edit the station’s news coverage.

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