When a protracted battle finally comes to an end, a certain silence descends upon a school board chamber. On the morning of May 5, this silence was palpable in the Orleans Parish School Board room. In support, six members held up their hands. No one did. And the city of New Orleans and its school district finally decided to end their legal battles after seven years of court filings, broken promises, and an estimated $135 million financial hole. Because the room was quiet and the language was formal, it’s the kind of moment that seems smaller than it actually is, but the implications go back more than ten years.
The dispute’s origins date back to 2018, when district officials went to City Hall and claimed they were owed money that the city had surreptitiously embezzled for years. This money included tax collection fees, pension obligations that were combined with school revenue, and funds that were meant to follow students but instead ended up somewhere else.
The school board filed a lawsuit by 2019. Looking at the case’s lengthy history, it seems possible that it would never have progressed if it weren’t for an odd political turn under former Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who first negotiated a settlement before abandoning it, citing the city’s deteriorating financial situation. It turned out that the spark was that reversal. Frustrated and exposed, the City Council joined the lawsuit against its own administration, a rare and slightly awkward move that suggested how unusual this battle had become.
As five of the seven council members stood next to Mayor Helena Moreno during the Tuesday afternoon press conference, it was difficult to ignore how cautious everyone was with their language. Words like “grateful,” “settled,” and “behind us” were used, but the fact that the city is broke remained unsaid. Even though the settlement sounds generous on paper, Moreno has been working on a roughly $220 million deficit since January, and it is also within the city’s financial means. Leila Eames, the president of the board, stated, “The city is broke — they’re having their own issues to deal with,” and this admission—rather than the financial numbers—likely explains why the deal was completed at this time.
The agreement’s mechanics are more intriguing than they initially seem. The city permanently discontinues using OPSB to collect property taxes. It lowers the sales tax collection fee to 1.5%, which, according to board vice president Olin Parker, amounts to roughly $150 per student annually. This is a small amount per child, but significant overall. A $6 million upfront payment, $2 million a year for fifteen years, and $4 million a year from the Caesars casino lease starting in 2030 are all included. The part that sticks in your head is the casino money. Restoring the fund feels like a minor adjustment to a long-standing habit that had been diverted from schools for decades in favor of municipal projects.
Not everyone is content. The lone dissenting vote, KaTrina Chantelle Griffin, contended that the settlement does not meet the demands of the initial lawsuit. Nolan Marshall, a board member, described it as “great but not perfect,” a statement that speaks more about what it acknowledges than what it praises.
In actuality, the majority of this money will not be used in classrooms; rather, it will be used to replenish the fund balance following a $50 million accounting error that cost the district money in 2024. It’s still unclear if funds designated for programs that address chronic absences and the Travis Hill School, which educates children incarcerated, will be transferred swiftly enough to have an impact on the students occupying those seats. However, the fight is no longer the main plot point for the first time in a long time. The expenditure will be.
