New Orleans City Council sues Mayor Cantrell over $20M school funding
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New Orleans City Council members voted Thursday to sue Mayor LaToya Cantrell in an effort to force her administration to pay NOLA Public Schools $20 million.
Why it matters: The Council's action ups the ante in a dispute between its members and Cantrell's administration.
The big picture: The Orleans Parish School Board is suing to force Cantrell's administration to follow through on a previously announced settlement to a 2019 lawsuit.
- The council voted unanimously, with the exception of Lesli Harris, to join in the suit. Harris was out sick.
Zoom in: The resolution, authored by Council president JP Morrell and budget chairman Joe Giarrusso, said the city and school board "worked in good faith" to carry out the settlement, but the mayor "unilaterally determined at the 11th hour that the settlement would not move forward."
- "The City Council finds the position of the Mayor and the City Attorney to be incredulous and indefensible," the resolution reads.
- Cantrell's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Zoom out: The decision came after a nearly 5-hour meeting earlier in the week in which members grilled the school board and city financial leaders about the deal and why it now appears to have fallen apart.
- The $20 million would help fill the district's $36 million budget hole, interim superintendent Fateama Fulmore says. School leaders say they are facing cuts to staffing and student services without it.
- The council included the $20 million funding in the city's 2025 budget, which the mayor lauded in November when it passed.
- The City Council estimates the city could potentially owe the school board $100 million if it didn't settle.
Between the lines: The agreement also permanently removed the 2% administration fee that the city charges the school district for collecting the money from residents.
- School leaders say taxpayers didn't approve the fee when they passed the millage in 1993 and accuse the city of skimming off the top.
- City leaders say the fee is for services rendered since they are responsible for billing, collecting and disbursing the money.
- This issue was at the heart of the 2019 lawsuit.
Yes, but: Now city attorney Donesia Turner says Cantrell doesn't "agree with any of the terms" in the agreement and hopes to negotiate a new deal by April 1.
- "The (agreement) as written ... was not in the best interest of the city of New Orleans at this time," Turner told the council Tuesday.
- The city's financial leaders painted a troubling picture of cash flow with a presentation slide labeled "Spending is out of control."
- They are also concerned about a loss of federal and state money under the new Trump administration.
What's next: The school board's lawsuit is in court Thursday.