05:52 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Melinda Deslatte / Associated Press

BATON ROUGE -- Despite plans to open some of New Orleans' public schools next month, school system officials said Tuesday they don't know how many students they'll have, how many schools they'll open and if they'll have enough money to run them.

An update for lawmakers also indicated that the devastated school system, which had deep money troubles even before Hurricane Katrina, still hasn't answered critical questions about who's in charge of spending and who's making the plans.

Acting schools superintendent Ora Watson told lawmakers that eight schools on the west bank of the Mississippi River were targeted to open in November. But William Roberti, with Alvarez & Marsal, a financial management firm working with New Orleans' public schools, said only some of those schools would open, depending on the number of students, the condition of the schools and the money available to operate them.

Roberti said Alvarez & Marsal have put out requests for contract bids for school repairs and janitorial work to ready some of the West Bank schools by November. More than 1,400 students have registered so far to enroll in those schools, which can hold about 7,200 students, and 1,700 teachers and staff have said they would return to work, according to Watson.

About 60,000 students were in New Orleans public schools before Hurricane Katrina flooded parts of the city and forced evacueesaround the state and country. The school system's employees, besides 27 people working out of temporary offices in Baton Rouge, currently aren't being paid. Their health benefits will be paid through the end of this month.

Roberti said the school system has about $52 million in unobligated cash and other dollars in a restricted account, but that's not enough to run all eight West Bank schools, pay needed central office staff and provide transportation for students. With the local tax base shut down, school officials are seeking financial help from the state and federal government, but it's unclear how much extra money the system will receive.

Other public school systems around the state also remain shut down by hurricane damage, including those in Calcasieu, Beauregard, Cameron, Vermilion, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes. Plaquemines Parish plans to reopen schools in Belle Chasse for all parish public school students on Oct. 17, and most public schools in St. Tammany and Jefferson parishes opened Monday.

In the midst of New Orleans' general problems trying to rebuild a school district destroyed by Katrina, disagreements still are evident over the role that Alvarez & Marsal should play in managing the system.

"We have found it difficult to kind of get everybody on the same page," Roberti told the Legislative Audit Advisory Council, which has been reviewing the school system's ongoing financial problems.

Roberti complained the management firm still didn't have authority to sign checks, making it difficult to oversee district finances.

New Orleans lawmakers on the advisory council, however, said the Alvarez & Marsal contract doesn't hold the firm responsible for spending unless there was criminal activity and the school board still ultimately was held responsible for the way the dollars were spent. Sen. Ed Murray, D-New Orleans, said there were disagreements about what the contract with the firm entails.

Watson said there hasn't been opposition to Alvarez & Marsal's suggestions or work, and a proposal to be heard by the school board on Friday will include joint signature authority between the board and Alvarez & Marsal.

Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, said despite the intervention of the state education superintendent and the hiring of Alvarez & Marsal, he still couldn't determine who was responsible for what in the school system.

The advisory council asked Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot to review the contract with Alvarez & Marsal and determine what the financial firm's legal roles and responsibilities are.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)