Newly obtained draft meeting minutes from KIPP New Orleans Schools show its board of directors failed to cite the Louisiana law that would have allowed the board’s private discussions that ultimately led to a vote to close Frederick A. Douglass High School.
One month ago, on March 12, KIPP’s board voted to close the Douglass High School location and merge its student body with John F. Kennedy High School this fall. The closure was a shock to the community who largely learned via social media.
“Blindsided,” is the word Douglass alumna Tuere Jones used to describe how she felt when she heard the news.
KIPP has claimed the vote to close Douglass was both urgent and unforeseen — and that that is why there was no hint on the board’s March 12 meeting agenda that a school could close.
But community members find it hard to believe such a big decision was not already in the works.
“You can’t make a decision like this in one afternoon. That doesn’t make sense to me,” Jones said, questioning how KIPP decided which two of its three high schools would merge. “It was already done.”
The need to close schools in the city amid declining enrollment has been a public conversation for years. In fact, KIPP had hired a crisis-communications firm five weeks prior to the vote for help with communications related to “potential change management topics.”
Public meetings attorneys have questioned the circumstances of KIPP’s vote. Though the board voted mid-meeting to add the closure item as required, the lack of notice may still amount to “subterfuge” — undercutting the state’s Open Meetings Law’s stated purpose of ensuring the public can witness the deliberations and decisions of public bodies.
New Documents
In response to questions about the circumstances of the board’s vote, a KIPP spokesman promised to provide the March 12 meeting minutes. Lamplighter shared the draft meeting minutes with public meetings attorney William Most of Most & Associates this week for review.
"These minutes do not in any way reduce my concerns that the board violated the Open Meetings Law's prohibition on using mid-meeting agenda changes as a subterfuge to defeat the purposes of the law,” he said.
The minutes also fail to cite Open Meetings Law, which has several narrow exceptions that allow public bodies to hold closed-door discussions.
KIPP’s crisis communications firm, Goldin Solutions, has ignored numerous requests for that information. The agency has also refused to cite any court case or demand letter regarding the board’s motion to discuss “a legal matter affecting bargaining power and ongoing/potential litigation.”
It was during this closed-door portion of the meeting that board president Dominique Willis says she learned of the need to close a school.
“Upon return from Executive Session, the board entertained open discussion of school consolidation issues and accelerated timing of same,” the minutes state.
The board unanimously voted to turn in its contract for Kennedy High School, rename Douglass High School and change its address to Kennedy’s Gentilly campus. Effectively moving Douglass’s A-rated program into Kennedy’s building.
KIPP’s decision to merge the schools was made after the city’s enrollment application lottery closed, giving KIPP students little choice to transfer schools.
Meanwhile, students and alumni still have questions about the late-in-the-year decision.
One Month Later
The news of the Douglass High School closure spread like wildfire online.
“I found out on social media. That was disturbing,” said alumnus Fernell Hogan.
Most current Kennedy and Douglass families Lamplighter has interviewed learned the same way. KIPP released a letter the week following the meeting that opened with “Many of you have heard...”
In the following weeks, the district announced it was “looking into” KIPP’s board vote.
On March 26, the Orleans Parish School Board effectively voted to approve the merger, by accepting KIPP’s three-prong contract changes. The only board member to address the circumstances of the KIPP vote was Gabriela Biro.
“I’m making this decision with the knowledge that the vote brought by KIPP's board was under the guidance of their legal counsel and that it did not violate open meetings law,” Biro said.
The board voted to approve the merger on March 26.
Neither NOLA Public Schools nor the Orleans Parish School Board have released a conclusive review of the KIPP board vote.
As of last week, district spokeswoman Taslin Alfonzo said the district had not issued any notices of concern or non-compliance. Those are the warning letters the district uses to alert charter groups to contract and/or state law violations.
The board has stated it will await the district’s review. Asked whether the board had set a deadline, Lamplighter received the following statement:
“The OPSB is aware of concerns about the process at KIPP New Orleans' March 12 board meeting. Review of this matter is within the purview of district administration, and it’s ongoing. No deadline has been provided. Once NOLA Public Schools’ review is complete, it will determine any appropriate next steps or actions based on the findings.”
Back in the KIPP Boardroom
The KIPP board is scheduled to meet Thursday night. The agenda for Thursday’s meeting does not include any items related to school closure or consolidation.
A petition to keep the school open has been circulating. Supporters would like to see a process that includes the school community.
“I would like for them to listen, and listen openly,” Jones said
Kennedy enrolls 641 students and Douglass enrolls 665 students. Jones, a former teacher, is worried about class size.
“You’re going to overcrowd the school building,” she said.
Hogan also wishes KIPP had asked for community input.
“I think it needs to be a more transparent decision process. I don’t think the charters should have so much power over schools in New Orleans,” Hogan said.
When it comes to oversight, Hogan doesn’t have much hope the Orleans Parish School Board will conduct a thorough review.
“Not too much you can ask from OPSB — I’m more of a realist, this didn’t just start now,” he said.
