[CharterSchools] Helps schools! Read and take action: Say no to SB 110

[charterschools at LACharter.org]

Here's why we must stop Senate Bill 110, which is scheduled to have its final vote in the House Thursday (May 23). Contact your representative here: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/FindMyLegislators.aspx

To build a city of great schools, New Orleans needs funding and support
 Updated 7:57 AM;  Today 6:59 AM By Kira Orange Jones, guest columnist  The city of New Orleans has been directing school tax dollars toward the city’s retirement funds since 2007, according to a Times-Picayune report Wednesday (May 22). Millions of dollars that were supposed to be used for our children’s education were used for pensions instead. The city is being sued for this practice by the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and Downtown Development District (DDD). Our schools need these funds. The mayor’s office put out a statement recently about the need for more great schools in New Orleans. Though the majority of families received one of their top three choices on the OneApp, some were understandably frustrated by their placements. There are simply not enough spaces in the city’s highest-demand schools for all the students who want to attend. As a city, we need to expand our best schools and improve existing ones. To provide more spots, we need more funding.We must make a choice to either stand behind our schools or simply critique from afar. We can provide the money our schools need to thrive, or rest content with the status quo.I have been representing New Orleans since 2011, and I believe our city can do better, and be better, for our children. We have made incredible progress before; our graduation rate, for instance, rose from 54 percent in 2004 to 78 percent in 2018. Our students’ eligibility for state TOPS scholarships nearly doubled. A recent report out of Stanford University found our students grew more than the state in reading for every year studied, between 2014-17. We can continue to make such progress if we invest in our schools with funding and strategic action. Put simply, OPSB cannot afford to have money taken away. State funding for New Orleans’ schools has remained flat for a decade. Schools struggle to pay for everything from classroom materials, to counselors, to school buses. Such resources help high-demand schools expand and improving schools to become truly great — and we need local and regional support more than ever.For years, our school system has depended on millions of dollars from federal and philanthropic grants to support citywide priorities, such as teacher recruitment, retention, training and curricular investments. These grants are set to expire in the coming years, leaving the system without sustainable revenue to continue funding these critical system-wide needs.That is why we must stop Senate Bill 110, which is scheduled to have its final vote in the House Thursday (May 23). The bill would allow the very practice that OPSB and the DDD are suing the city for. Each year, a certain portion of local tax revenues is directed to OPSB for our public schools. The city itself is authorized to take a small portion of this money for tax collection expenses. Unfortunately, they have been taking more than the authorized amount and using some of that amount for city retirement funds instead.SB110 would double the amount they are allowed to take overall. If this bill passes, OPSB stands to lose an additional $3.2 million in revenue each year, or roughly $75 less per student for all our city’s public schools. Our students deserve better. If we want more great schools, and more great options on OneApp, we must preserve school funding and fight to stop SB110.If we can prevent its passage, we will lessen the frustration Mayor LaToya Cantrell has rightly reported from our city’s families.There is no time to waste. Our system is stronger than ever, but we are not finished. We are at a point in New Orleans where more families want their children to attend public schools, but find themselves disappointed when they are not placed at the school they had hoped for.We should be proud, as a city, that our system is designed around equity; neither influence nor connections provide special access to high-demand schools. What we need are more great schools, now. We need legislative action to prevent more funds being taken away from our system of schools. If our represenatives truly want to give their constituents more great educational options, they must put their votes behind it.Kira Orange Jones is an educator and the New Orleans representative on Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Cheron Brylski
The Brylski Company
3418 Coliseum Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
www.brylskicompany.com
(504) 897-6110
Cell (504) 460-1468
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