Perhaps the University of Houston should review its screening process for job applicants. On Monday, the U of H issued a press release announcing the appointment of Herman Taitt as Executive Director of Facilities Management for the university. The glowing announcement included a quote from Associate Vice Chancellor Emily Messa, who said: “Herman’s extensive and […] More
Members of the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) are embroiled in bitter infighting once again and (surprise!) the issue at the center of the dispute is the allocation of district construction contracts. The recent strife began after the district announced its plan to award a $51 million contract to Woodward Design + Build for the […] More
Following the Orleans Parish School Board these days is like watching the remake of a lousy movie: the actors are different, but the protagonists are still boorish, the plot is still clunky, and you already know that it’s going to end badly. For those of us who suffered through the slow-motion car wreck that was […] More
Orleans Parish School Board President Ira Thomas is playing racially-charged, self-serving political games on the school board and the target of his machinations is once again OPSB Superintendent Stan Smith. On Thursday, the Times-Picayune reported that Thomas was trying to schedule an emergency meeting aimed at demoting Smith and possibly installing Armand Devezin as superintendent. However, Thomas was unable to secure the quorum […] More
In its first full meeting of 2013, the Orleans Parish School Board sent a clear message to the community: You would be insane to return schools to our control. Over the past year, advocates for a return to local control have sought to portray OPSB as a model of bureaucratic rehabilitation. They pointed to the […] More
Peter Cook