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Download the Letter to Louisiana Senate

FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HB 1347 & SB 795

Representative Austin Badon and Senator Ann Duplessis propose to spend $10 million of tax-payer funds to pay for private school tuition for about 2,000 students currently in the New Orleans Recovery School District, Orleans Parish and public charter schools.

Vouchers Will Impair Public School Students in New Orleans

• Vouchers will take $14 million from the 30,749 remaining public school children in New Orleans.

• Vouchers will imbalance public schools in New Orleans by reducing the number of its students in grades K-3, which will be especially difficult on new public charter schools.

• Since reforms in New Orleans have barely begun and not yet been given opportunity for evaluation, passing this legislation will send a message to the public that the state does not believe in its own reforms and programs leading to decreased public confidence and resources for public schools.

Vouchers Won’t Change Achievement Outcomes for Children

• Private schools score lower, on average, in the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) than public schools.

• Milwaukee Parental Choice Program found no appreciable academic gains in reading and math from vouchers and attrition rates were high: 44% and 32% in the first two years.

• In Washington, D.C., the academic achievement of African American students who used a voucher to switch from public to private school was not consistently higher over the 3 years of the study than that of the control group of African American students who remained in public schools.

• In Cleveland, after two years, there was no improvement in the overall test scores of those students using vouchers in established private schools.

Vouchers Will Undermine Current Public School Progress

• This program will further complicate an already complex system for public education.

• Studies show that parents who enroll their students into voucher programs are better educated; more involved in their child’s school and have higher aspirations for their children than average public school parents.  Given that such aspects are typically indicative of higher student achievement, vouchers will remove some of the public school district’s best assets from classrooms.

• Reforms without our public school families’ voice are reforms that will not be supported by our public school families and contribute to the barriers of mistrust, hopelessness and cynicism.

What could $10 million do for public education in New Orleans?

• Reduce class size by adding 200 teachers to our public schools.

• Add art, music and physical education to every elementary and middle school.

• Expand electives for language, science and technology within each high school.

• Improve building health and safety through better facility maintenance.

• Create 75 early childhood classrooms for 1500 three and four year olds, doubling capacity for early childhood education.

• Create school-based, high-quality after school programs for approximately 7,000 students which would nearly double the number of students participating in such programs.

So… Why Vouchers in New Orleans?

Politics, as usual.

We strongly urge you to review the facts of the matter before making a decision.

From Save our Schools NOLA & the Campaign: Our Schools. Our Future. Our Plans.

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Frequently Asked Questions about the Citizen Participation Process

What are the goals of the Citizen Participation Process?

The goal is to create a formal relationship between City Government and citizens. We do not yet know what form this relationship will ultimately take, but we know what our goals are: to ensure that City Government must engage with citizens, that citizens have a voice in the decision making process before decisions are made, and that our city comes back the way we want it to.

Who is running this process?

The process is citizen-driven. The Neighborhoods Partnership Network and the Committee for a Better New Orleans/ Metropolitan Area Committee are helping to facilitate this process, have opened an office at 3500 Canal Street, and hired staff to help, but neither organization is directing the process and the development of Citizen Participation. Those decisions will be made by the individuals who get involved, and anyone can get involved.

What is the next step?

These forums are acting as a way for us to get in touch with people who want to become involved in this process. The next step is to hold a two-day retreat here in New Orleans to discuss different models and ideas for Citizen Participation. The retreat will lead to the creation of a citizen-driven Steering Committee, who will ultimately be in charge of directing the process.

How is this funded now?

Grants from national and local foundations are currently funding this process. NPN and CBNO/MAC are not privately funding this process, and do not have a private agenda for this process.

How will this be funded in the future?

That is a question that the citizen’s committee will have to decide; this will probably be the hardest question to decide. It has been expressed that it would be desirable to have it written into the budget as a project that gets recurrent funding without having to go through the budget processing. This would be a safeguard from having this process corrupted or completely wiped out by any person inside the city government who may be unhappy with it. It would hopefully keep citizen participation separate from politics. This is only a suggestion, however.

My neighborhood/other community group already has a great relationship with our City Council representative. Why should I want to jeopardize that by supporting this?

It is wonderful that you have a close relationship with your representative, and this process is not trying to endanger that relationship. This process could benefit your relationship with City Government in many ways. Whereas you may have a great relationship with your current representative, there is no guarantee that you will have a similar relationship with representative that may replace them in another election cycle. Moreover, CPP would hopefully free people up to vote based on issues, and not based on relationships or political strategizing. Additionally, CPP would bring everyone to a level playing ground, improving everyone’s relationships with their representatives.

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Survey

Small Entrepreneur Developer Program:

Providing Individuals Access to NORA Properties

Please Complete by April 7, 2008

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) is creating a new Small Entrepreneur Developer program to assist small developers – both for-profit and nonprofit - in applying for and acquiring NORA-held properties that can be developed into housing. It is not aimed at the large professional developers, but those individuals and small organizations that are interested in developing 1-5 properties as a means to participate in the rebuilding of New Orleans and to tap into the economic potential of rehabilitating dilapidated houses or developing new homes on vacant lots.

NORA would be very grateful if you would take a few minutes to complete this survey. By doing so, you will provide direction to NORA in the creation of a program that includes the necessary support systems to ensure its success. All responses will be confidential.

1. What is your experience in developing housing in New Orleans in the past five years:

□ Developed more than 10 houses

□ Developed 6 - 10 houses

□ Developed 1 – 5 houses

□ Never developed housing

2. What are the biggest obstacles you experience in developing housing in New Orleans?

3. In which areas would you be interested in receiving training?

□ Budget / Pro forma Development

□ Construction Management

□ Marketing

□ Housing Design / Specification Writing

□ Financial Packaging / Available Funding Sources

□ Collaborative Project Planning

□ Legal Issues

□ Other: ______________________________

4. What is your anticipated source of funding for redevelopment projects

□ Personal Funds

□ Bank Financing

□ Government Subsidy

□ Need Funding Assistance

□ Other: _______________________________

5. In what ways could NORA assist you in developing housing? What is your anticipated source of

6. Any other comments or concerns you would like to express?

7. Please indicate your name and contact information, if you would prefer to be contacted personally.

Name _____________________________

Phone Number _________________________

316 N. Capitol Ave., Suite D-2 Lansing, MI 48933 Phone 517 483 4051 Fax 517 483 7673 E-mail: lancomme@tir.com www.lansingmicrofund.org

Thank you for completing this survey. Your input is important to NORA.

Please send the information to Amy Hovey, consultant with the Genesee Institute assisting NORA, at amyhovey@protogenia.com or fax to 810.257.3090.

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Question: A person on my street is building a new super-nice modern home and has cut up the street to do his sewer connection. The street has been a mess for a while, and he needs to patch it up. Who can I report this to?

Answer: In the interest of fostering a good relationship with your neighbor, the first thing I’d do is stop by his/her home and express my concerns before calling any authorities. You may be surprised how fast matters get resolved without having to involve City Hall. If, for some reason, your neighbor seems unresponsive, I would call 311 to report the problem. If the problem was becoming dangerous (e.g. a mega pothole was swallowing small cars), I’d call the Department of Safety and Permits at (504) 658-7130 to see if they could inspect the site, and perhaps issue a warning if things are out of line with building rules and regulations.

Question: Has anything been finalized, community development-wise, regarding the Gentilly/Elysian Field Corridor?

Answer: From the Office of Recovery Management’s perspective, we are assisting Dillard University’s community development corporation in revitalizing the neighborhoods surrounding the Gentilly and Elysian Fields corridor. There have not been any final decisions made by the multiple owners involved in the site identified as one of ORM’s Target Area projects at the Gentilly/Elysian Field location. However, Walgreen’s Drug Store has committed to build at the old site of Zuppardo’s Economical Supermarket and has agreed to incorporate a design that will be complementary to the local aesthetics for the neighborhood in their façade.

Have a Question for City Hall
or need a particular concern addressed?
E-mail it to sean@npnnola.com and the Trumpet will do its best to get an answer.

District A
City Hall, Room 2W80
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 658-1010
Fax: (504) 658-1016
Email:SMidura@cityofno.com

District B
City Hall, Room 2W10
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 658 -1020
Fax: (504) 658-1025
Email:SHead@cityofno.com

District C
City Hall, Room 2W70
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 658-1030
Fax: (504) 658-1037
Email: JCarter@cityofno.com

District D
City Hall, Room 2W20
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
Phone: (504) 658-1040
Fax: (504) 658-1048
CHMorrell@cityofno.com

District E
City Hall, Room 2W60
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 658-1050
Fax: (504) 658-1058
CWLewis@cityofno.com

Council Member-At-Large
City Hall, Room 2W40
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 658-1060
Fax: (504) 658-1068
Email:AFielkow@cityofno.com
Council Member-At-Large
City Hall, Room 2W50
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 658-1070
Fax: (504) 658-1077
E-mail:mdarnell@cityofno.com

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QUESTION: What do I need to submit to City Hall to do business as a non-profit organization? Can you explain steps to take, as well as the pros and cons of organizing?

ANSWER: The process for becoming a non-profit organization happens at both state and federal levels. A non-profit, or 501-(c)(3) organization, is a business that does not seek profit for its services. For that reason, a non-profit is eligible for state and federal tax exemptions.

Since I don’t know what type of organization you want to start, I’ll use a neighborhood association as an example.  The pros of establishing an organization as a non-profit are tax exemption status, tax write-offs for donors and a plethora of possible grants.  However, the cons of forming a non-profit are that the application process requires more time and money than a for-profit entity and the organization must have both stringent bookkeeping and financial disclosure procedures.

To start a non-profit, you will first need to incorporate. You can find further information about this at the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.louisiana.gov and the Internal Revenue Service’s website, www.irs.gov/charities.
QUESTION: One side of my street has a streetlight, but that’s the only one for the entire block. The other side is dark and gloomy at night. There are light poles, but there are no fixtures on them. Who do I contact about putting up additional light fixtures?

ANSWER:  You need to contact the Department of Public Works at 504-658-2299 to report your problem. Although it may take some time to have the problem remedied, given the backlog of work, you’ll be given a reference number to check on the status of the project.

Have a Question for City Hall or need a particular concern addressed?
E-mail it to sean@npnnola.com and the Trumpet will do its best to get an answer.

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Broadmoor’s friends at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, in partnership with Bard College of New York, are planning a FREE event for the public – especially for neighborhood leaders – to help folks use data more effectively for fundraising, project implementation, project management, etc. See the email below.

Please consider attending, and kindly pass this email onto anyone else you think might benefit from attending the event. All are welcome. The free GIS training has limited space and is first-come, first-served so be sure to sign up immediately if you would like to attend this workshop. The data event at the CAC on November 3^rd has plenty of space to accommodate any who would like to attend.

For detailed information on the Nov 2 and 3 events download the following pdfs,

November 2 workshop

November 3 invitation

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7pm, University Center, Grand Ballroom 

 

The debate will be moderated by Roop Raj of WDSU-TV and will be held at Xavier University, University Center, 3rd floor auditorium. The forum will give voters the opportunity to hear directly from the thirteen candidates on their vision and plan for the future of New Orleans and its recovery. The debate can be viewed live via web-cast from anywhere in the country on WDSU.com.

The Forum will begin with brief opening statements from each candidate. This will be followed by a series of questions posed by the moderator. Candidates will be asked to respond to questions on a wide spectrum of issues related to the recovery of New Orleans and our neighborhoods. Questions will be supplied by the sponsoring organizations; however, citizens in attendance will have an equal opportunity to submit questions for the candidates.

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Date: Wednesday October 10, 2007
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Crystal Palace Reception Hall
10038 Chef Menteur Highway
(@ Chef Hwy. and Read Blvd.)

 

CONFIRMED CANDIDATES: Virginia Boulet, Quentin Brown, Kimberly
Butler, Jacquelyn Clarkson, Dyan French, Kaare Johnson, Joe Jones, Thomas
Lewis, Malcom Suber, Tommie Vassel, Cynthia Willard-Lewis

 

MODERATED BY: Cyndi Nguyen, Reporter ABC 26
SPONSORED BY: ACORN♦Eastern New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory
Commission♦Holy Cross Neighborhood Association♦Irish Bayou Community♦Lake
Bullard Homeowners Association♦Lake Catherine Civic Association♦Lower Ninth Ward
Neighborhood Council, Inc. ♦ Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development
Corporation♦ National Coalition of 100 Black Women♦ Neighborhoods Empowering
Neighborhoods♦New Life Intracoastal Community Development♦Oak Island
Homeowners Association♦Venetian Isles♦Vietnamese American Young Leaders
Association of New Orleans♦Wimbledon Civic Association

 

Translation services will be available in Vietnamese and Spanish
For more information please contact Mai Dang at
MaiDang@mqvncdc.org/ 504.344.7806

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Ask City Hall

Have a Question for City Hall or need a particular concern addressed. E-mail it to sean@npnnnola.com, and the Trumpet will do its best to get an answer.

 

Question: I live next door to an abandoned, flooded-out house. I’m not sure if the owners are returning, but the eyesore is dragging down my property value, as well as making the neighborhood look bad. Who do I contact about getting blighted property cleaned up?

Answer:  In post-Katrina New Orleans this might be a tricky matter, but for starters you can notify the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority. NORA will inspect the property and determine the level of blight. In cases where the blight is overwhelming the city may recommend demolition if the property is beyond remediation. In the event that the city determines that the property can be rehabilitated, NORA will contact the owner to make the necessary repairs. If the owner does not take the necessary steps to remove the blight, NORA then offers to purchase the property at fair market value, and notifies the owner of impending take over by the city. So as you can see the process for remedying blighted property is fairly involved. If you are the owner of a property that has a property deemed as an imminent health threat and is slated for demolition or takeover by the city, you may contact the city’s Bureau of Code Enforcement at 504-658-4300 or 504-658-4200.

 

For further information about blighted properties, please contact the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority at (504) 658-4271.

 

Question: My property tax assessment is higher than it’s ever been so I’m thinking that a mistake might have been made. What do I do about appealing my assessment?

Answer: Appeals for property tax assessments will take place between Sept. 17 and October 15. The appeals, which will be held at the Louisiana Super Dome, should last no longer than 20 minutes. Property owners need not be present for an appeal to be reviewed. Documents needed for review should include pictures, appraisals, insurance policies, contractor estimates and/or evidence of demolition. Appealing taxpayers should receive letters detailing the appeals process, as well as the date and time of their appointment. If you cannot make your scheduled appointment, or have questions about your appeal, the easiest way to reschedule and/or get answered is to e-mail TaxAppeal@gardencitygroup.com. You may also call 1-800-918-1024 for rescheduling or questions. In the event that you’re not sure what your property tax assessment is, you’ll have to contact the assessor for your district.

Assessors 1300 Perdido St., Room 4E01 New Orleans, LA 70112
1st Municipal District (Wards 1, 2 & 3)	Darren Mire, CLA Assessor	658-1310
2nd Municipal District (Wards 4, 5 & 6)	Claude T. Mauberret, CLA	658-1320
3rd Municipal District (Wards 7, 8 & 9)	Erroll Williams, CLA Assessor	658-1330
4th Municipal District (Wards 10 & 11)	Betty Jefferson, CLA Assessor	658-1340
5th Municipal District (Ward 15)	Thomas L. Arnold, CLA Assessor	658-1350
	Algiers Office 225 Morgan Street New Orleans, LA 70114	368-7642 368-7651 Fax
6th Municipal District (Wards 12, 13 & 14)	Janyce D. Degan Assessor	658-1360
7th Municipal District (Wards 16 & 17)	Henry F. Heaton, CLA Assessor	658-1370

For more information, visit www.neworleanstaxappeal.com.

 

Question: My neighborhood has a community center we’re trying to jumpstart and we’d really like if our councilperson would attend one of our functions. What’s the best way to contact him/her?

Answer: As you know, council members have very hectic schedules, so you should try sending an invite at least two weeks in advance of your event. Be sure to give the particulars of your event, and how’d you’d like them to participate. I’m not sure who your councilperson is, so we’ll publish contact information for all districts.

 

District A

City Hall, Room 2W80

1300 Perdido Street

New Orleans, LA 70112

Phone: (504) 658-1010

Fax: (504) 658-1016

Email:SMidura@cityofno.com

 

District B               

City Hall, Room 2W10

1300 Perdido Street

New Orleans, LA 70112

Phone: (504) 658 -1020

Fax: (504) 658-1025

Email:SHead@cityofno.com

 

 

District C

City Hall, Room 2W70

1300 Perdido Street

New Orleans, LA 70112

Phone: (504) 658-1030

Fax: (504) 658-1037

Email: JCarter@cityofno.com

 

District D

City Hall, Room 2W20

1300 Perdido Street

New Orleans, Louisiana 70112

Phone: (504) 658-1040

Fax: (504) 658-1048

CHMorrell@cityofno.com

 

District E

City Hall, Room 2W60

1300 Perdido Street

New Orleans, LA 70112

Phone: (504) 658-1050

Fax: (504) 658-1058

CWLewis@cityofno.com

 

Council Member-At-Large

City Hall, Room 2W40

1300 Perdido Street

New Orleans, LA 70112

Phone: (504) 658-1060

Fax: (504) 658-1068

Email:AFielkow@cityofno.com

 

Council Member-At-Large

City Hall, Room 2W50
1300 Perdido Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 658-1070
Fax: (504) 658-1077
E-mail:mdarnell@cityofno.com

 

To ask a ?, e-mail

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