Controversial school property tax proposal on December ballot
29th September 2014 · 0 Comments
By Kari Dequine cash advance Los Angeles 90061 Harden
Contributing Writer
The disagreement over proposed new legislation renewing and repurposing property tax dollars into a fund for school facility maintenance isn’t a disagreement over the fact that buildings in New Orleans need to be maintained better than they have in the past.
The disagreement stems from a deeper mistrust of the state and their privatized Recovery School District (RSD) to spend the public money in a way that is equitable and accountable.
“My concern is taxation without representation,” education activist Karran Harper Royal told the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) at Tuesday’s meeting.
If approved by the bond commission, Act 543 will appear before voters on the Dec. 6 ballot. The measure will levy a tax of 4.97 mills beginning in 2015 and expiring in 2025, and will direct an estimated $15 million annually to the school maintenance fund.
At the Sept. 16 meeting, the OPSB passed the resolution by a margin of one vote, highlighting division within the board as well as among the considerable number of people who gave public comments on the issue.
Board members Seth Bloom, Woody Koppel, Nolan Marshall Jr. and Sarah Usdin voted to put the measure on the December ballot. Cynthia Cade, Leslie Ellison and Ira Thomas voted in opposition.
While the city received a significant amount of federal money for facilities after Hurricane Katrina, supporters say there must be a mechanism and money in place to ensure that all the beautiful new buildings, or renovated old buildings, can be maintained.
The federal money does not provide for routine maintenance.
But no one at the meeting advocated for children to spend their days in facilities like A.P. Tureaud Elementary or John McDonogh High School – buildings that have been cited by the health department for violations including rodent droppings, termite damage, peeling lead paint and exposed asbestos.
The need for ensured maintenance is “not lost on me,” Harper Royal said.
However, Harper Royal said that where she lives and pays property taxes, “the schools are operated by private boards and are not accountable to me in any way.”
The legislation requires that facility offices be established within both the OPSB and the RSD cash advance Tulsa Okla. to oversee and allocate money for maintenance and repairs.
The new law also creates a revolving loan fund that will provide interest-free loans to schools for capital repairs and replacements that extend beyond what they have in their segregated funds.
The money is tied to the building, and the amount determined by the per-pupil funding. The OPSB and RSD will govern and own the accounts, and the charter operators will manage them. If a charter operator leaves a building with debt, the new charter operator assumes that debt.
Harper Royal suggested that the city’s schools – which have now almost entirely been turned into private businesses operating with public money – “kick in some of their own funds.”
While technically nonprofits, the business of being a top administrator of a charter management organization that uses public funds can be very profitable.
And while those salaries and budgets are approved by the charter boards, neither the boards—nor the RSD – have any accountability to the voting public who pay the salaries.
In a sampling of the city’s more than 40 mini school districts, Renew Schools CEO Gary Robichaux receives an annual salary of $156,387, with Chief of Staff Colleen Mackay earning $132,480, according to 2012 tax documents.
Michael Dunn, CFO of KIPP New Orleans earns $148,351 annually, and executive director Rhonda Kalifey-Aluise earns $135,000, according to 2012 tax documents.
Collegiate Academies CEO Ben Marcovitz earns $131,172 annually, and Einstein principal and CEO Shawn Toranto earns $129,555 annually, according to 2013 tax documents. Friends of King CEO and principal Don Hickes receives an annual salary of $130,779, according to 2012 tax documents.
Lusher Charter School CEO Kathy Reidlinger (a school which admits only selective students) consistently tops the list with an annual salary of $283,100, according to 2012 tax documents. Lusher’s CFO Lynden Swaze, receives an annual salary $151,116.
In addition to the exponential expansion of school districts with top-heavy administrations, the process in which buildings have been assigned, grants given, and charter contracts approved has long faced criticism in terms of transparency and fairness.
Certain charters have more political clout than others, Harper Royal noted.
“Someone has to held bad credit loans not payday loans direct lenders accountable,” she said. “This is all of our money.”
Speaking in favor of Act 543 were representatives from Orleans Public Education Network (OPEN), The Urban League of Greater New Orleans, The Business Council of New Orleans, and the East Bank Collaborative of Charter Schools.
Their argument was essentially the same: the buildings need to be maintained.
Attorney Willie Zanders argued that public money going to private boards “sounds like malfeasance.”
Zanders also questioned why the RSD needed to still have (taxpayer funded) employment and a role in the city until 2025 when currently they don’t run any schools.
Over the past decade, “turnaround” for the RSD equated to turning every single school over to private charter operators.
Board member Leslie Ellison said that she agreed with Act 543 in theory, but not with creating added bureaucracy and employment for the RSD, when the “RSD does not operate a single school, therefore, their purpose in New Orleans is finished.”
Ellison also expressed concern about the agendas of special interest groups lobbying for the passage of the bill.
Ellison said that the bill was “in the interest of the RSD and not in the interest of the students.”
“I was not elected to rubber stamp any measure,” she said.
Board member Cynthia Cade also spoke passionately in opposition to the bill and criticized the RSD for their historic lack of accountability. She asked if anyone was at the meeting to represent the RSD. No one stepped forth.
Board president Nolan Marshall, Jr. said that the September 16 vote wasn’t going to solve the OPSB/RSD governance debate, or the charter vs. traditional school debate, but that it would solve whether schools would be repaired going forward, and the OPSB decision was simply to give it to voters to make the decision.
Koppel, who also voted to put the measure on the December ballot, said after the contentious meeting that he is trying to focus on things that can be accomplished.
Koppel acknowledged that the relationship between the OPSB and the RSD has not been an easy one – and will continue to require work to put aside their differences for st george personal loan payout the best interest of the kids. However Koppel also noted that the OPSB has attempted multiple times to fight issues of governance and constitutionality through legal means — and failed in the courts.
Ultimately, Koppel said, the state — the Governor and State Superintendent John White – have authority over a number of key decisions and the OPSB can only do what is in their power to do.
Koppel said that Act 543 is something that will provide funding and ensure that facilities are maintained. He said that while he understands the concerns over the reach of the RSD, this particular bill isn’t the right vehicle for that. Holding hostage the bond money won’t help anyone, Koppel said.
Because the OPSB still owns all the buildings, it remains in somewhat of a landlord role, even though they aren’t allowed to actually use their own buildings unless given permission by the RSD.
Koppel said that while they may not currently have use of the buildings, the OPSB has a vested interest in making sure they are properly taken care of, and that the OPSB will be able to see when and where every dollar is spent.
Supporters of the bill stressed urgency, in that money would be lost if the bonds were allowed to expire.
“Ultimately because the OPSB owns the schools we have the ability and the charge to make sure the money is spent responsibly,” Koppel said.
Ellison said that there were “too many warning signs,” that passing this bill could be “disastrous” for the people of New Orleans. “Why are we asking public to vote to establish the RSD as landlord over OPSB facilities?” Ellison questioned.
Once approved by the bond commission, the decision will go before voters on December 6.
Supporters will argue that it’s about ensuring children have schools that can be maintained into the future. Those opposed to the bill will need to convince voters that the same goal can be accomplished without the RSD’s involvement and in a way that provides more accountability to taxpayers.
This article originally published in the September 29, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
