New Orleans Hash

Chilling AC bills point up challenges of 'quick-start' school construction ...

It took a few months to notice something was wrong at Langston Hughes Academy after the school arrived at its spacious, modern new building near City Park back in 2009. Amid the chaos and excitement of moving into a new facility and gearing up for the school year, no one took careful notice of the utility bill, says Kathy Padian, who serves on the school's board.

But when they did, it was jaw-dropping.

The district had told them to expect between $11,000 and $13,000 a month. The school budgeted for $15,000 to be safe, Padian said, but the tab was coming in at $18,000 to $20,000 for reasons that no one could immediately explain.

Finally, the Recovery School District , which had commissioned the new building, hired an expert from the U.S. Department of Energy to study the issue. Turns out, it was the school's state-of-the-art air conditioning, or HVAC, system that was burning a hole in the school's finances. It had been programmed with faulty assumptions, going full blast whether the whole student body was attending classes or just a few janitors were left cleaning up after hours.

As school officials lay out revisions to the so-called "master plan" for school facilities , a plan that will govern how nearly $2 billion in federal aid is spent, the air conditioning in schools that have already been constructed stands out as a cautionary tale. The same system has run up bills at early school projects such as L.B. Landry and Greater Gentilly high schools.

Padian, who leads an advocacy group called the New Orleans School Facility Project, sees the HVACs as typical of the way the RSD has charged ahead with grandiose designs while neglecting to consult the people who will actually have to live with -- and pay for -- the resulting buildings.

"We're supposed to be on the cutting edge of innovation in education," Padian said, referring to post-Katrina reforms that have put New Orleans at the forefront of a nationwide effort to improve urban schools. "This construction project is the only place where we're not being innovative at all."

Padian is an unlikely critic of the RSD. She's a strong supporter of the move toward independent charter schools , which the district has embraced since taking over most New Orleans campuses following the 2005 storm.

And yet she is livid with flaws that she sees in the design of Langston Hughes and other so-called "quick-start" campuses that have already gone up: enough kitchen equipment to serve 1,000 students for a school with fewer than 600; 1,200 lockers for that same population; 40-foot-high ceilings and no way to change the light bulbs in them short of renting a mechanical lift.

New Orleans – You're a Firework « Recrear Participación

Building a local chapter – a new initiative for Recrear but although the large task ahead of us there is certainly excitement in the air. After four days of having met and strategized with a group of students from the University of New Orleans, I have been impressed to see what we have come up with so far. We aim to “be action oriented, foster intercultural dialogue and promote collaborative exchange”. The more we hash out the strategies the more I realize just how much this chapter could have an influence on this community and the region. The group is a truly engaging one to work with as there are no shortage of big thinkers amongst these students. – and big thinking always makes for worthwhile challenges.

I am anxious for our two upcoming fundraisers – both of them opportunities for Recrear to make its introduction into the New Orleans community. Never for a moment has there even been a concern that Recrear would not find a place for itself here. Rather this city is thriving with the potential of partnership and positive forward thinking community development projects. Engaging youth in a way they never saw possible – that’s what we hope to do.

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