We’ve long been critical of the school board in New Orleans and the legislature in Louisiana for their actions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to take away New Orleans Public School teachers and staff’s ability to participate as partners in the rebuilding process.  This included the dismissal of nearly the entire workforce; the refusal of the board to negotiate a new contract; the legislative creation of a new accountability system that would apply only to New Orleans, thus creating the Recovery School District; and the creation of a system of charter schools that could not come under the provisions of the New Orleans contract, something previously allowed by Louisiana law.  

Earlier this week, the school board and the United Teachers of New Orleans announced that they had settled law suits that the union had brought against the district.  Staff who were fired in the wake of the hurricane will receive a $1,000 payout as a result.  And the school board will negotiate a new contract with UTNO.

Brenda Mitchell, the UTNO President, said of the agreement, “The storm has passed. The acrimony that might have been there is over." There is still so much to do. But today, for the staff who worked in the schools before Hurricane Katrina, and for those working in the schools still under control of the school board, it is a good day.