New Schools for New Orleans committed $600,000 to KIPP New Orleans Schools weeks after the city’s largest charter operator announced two major campus changes, KIPP officials confirmed Wednesday. 

Records obtained by Lamplighter News show that as early as January, KIPP officials sought the support of the education nonprofit when considering closing one of the network’s three high schools. The moves were "contingent on NOLAPS and NSNO approval and funding support," according to a January presentation.

In March, KIPP voted to close Frederick Douglass High School and merge two elementary school campuses. NSNO’s six-figure financial commitment followed later that month, KIPP CEO Rhonda Kalifey-Aluise said.

New Schools for New Orleans CEO Dana Peterson confirmed the grant to Lamplighter News in an email this week. The organization has a $20 million operating budget and a prominent presence in the school system.

“I'm not going to share any details regarding our grantmaking process, how we evaluate opportunities, or determine grant objectives,” Peterson wrote. “But, yes, we did provide funding to support this transition.”

Despite months of internal discussions, apparent coordination with outside groups and the hiring of a crisis-communications firm, KIPP officials did not publicly announce the consideration, let alone intention, to close Douglass and send its students to John F. Kennedy High School. 

That decision was made at a mid-March board meeting. By failing to include the closure vote in its board meeting agenda, public records lawyers say KIPP skirted the Louisiana Open Meetings Law. 

Though public boards can take up issues at the last minute by voting to add the item to the agenda, attorney William Most of Most & Associates told Lamplighter that “the law is explicit that this power cannot be used ‘as a subterfuge to defeat the purposes’ of the Open Meetings Law.”

“The KIPP board's choice to add a long-known but controversial issue to the agenda mid-meeting raises serious concerns about exactly that kind of subterfuge,” Most said in March.

Many families and students learned of the pending closure on social media.

Read: ‘Subterfuge’: How KIPP New Orleans’ vote to close Douglass High School skirted Open Meetings Law

‘The Future is Smaller’

That’s the name of the podcast New Schools for New Orleans is releasing next month. “The Future Is Smaller: What New Orleans Learned Before America Had To.” 

The organization has pitched a session with the same title to the annual South by Southwest festival in Austin. “The panel will examine how leaders can navigate school closures, mergers, and enrollment declines while protecting academic progress, using public resources wisely, and earning the trust of families,” NSNO’s website states.

New Schools for New Orleans commissioned the 2021 study that marked a shift in urgency to address declining enrollment in the city. When schools are underenrolled, budgets can be stretched thin as building maintenance and other fixed costs remain the same. Many districts address this by closing schools and shifting students to fill existing buildings. In New Orleans, the school district asked charter groups to voluntarily consolidate schools.

In early 2022, two charter groups announced school closures. Additional mergers that have followed are sure to be included in the NSNO panel’s discussion, should it be selected for the festival, including Douglass.

The panel could shed light on the extent of the role NSNO plays in New Orleans charter group decisions. The $600,000 donation to KIPP will cover “a variety of capital and moving-related costs,” Kalifey-Aluise said.

The mid-March decision to close Douglass came after the application deadline for the city’s enrollment lottery. Families had finalized their school choices for the following school year without knowledge the Douglass campus would move and that the high school would double in size.

Lamplighter asked Peterson about KIPP’s decision to finalize the closure after the enrollment lottery closed and whether NSNO supports allowing families to resubmit their applications after such a change. This is a portion of that email exchange:

Lamplighter: “KIPP's decision to close Douglass came after NCAP applications closed. Students did not have the opportunity to select a new school despite moving across town and a student body doubling in size. Decisions like that remove power from parents and families.”

Peterson said “I believe this decision was centered on how to best serve students and families, so I don't agree with your framing that it somehow removed power from families.”

Neither the district nor elected school board sought to remedy the late announcement either. In the past, the district has offered a status called “closing school priority” to students whose campuses are shifting or shuttering. 

Peterson highlighted the shared priority between the three governing bodies. 

“I applaud KIPP (and other charter leaders around the city) for making these tough decisions, and NOLA-PS and OPBS for recognizing the need for them to do so,” he wrote. 

“Our unique system of schools is stronger today because of those decisions — even if the process is imperfect.”

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