The Perfect Storm

Reading this story on Yahoo News about New Orleans schools being strapped for cash, I smell something rotten in the Parish of Orleans. There is absolutely no reason why the school should be low on cash as a result of the storm (unless the city's other agencies raided the school coffers). But that latter part does not seem likely from the story since it's quite evident that the schools were cash strapped even before the storm hit. The following form the company that administers the schools is telling:

Sajan George, another managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, said the destruction Katrina caused was, in its own way, an opportunity to renew the beleaguered system.

"The rebuilding will afford a number of opportunities in not only rebuilding the physical environment but the educational environment students work in," he said. "The faster we can get back to reopening the school system the faster we can rebuild a world-class city."

Sounds like a piss poor school district is trying to use the sympathy from teachers not being paid following a disaster to get a free ride from the Feds. I'm all about spending for our public schools (being a child of the LAUSD), but I have serious problems with the means employed. Much like the rushed legislation following 9/11, I think its unwise for this admin or any other admin to throw money at NOSD without due deliberations and proper safeguards.