HLS 15RS-4701 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 227
BY REPRESENTATIVE WESLEY BISHOP
SCHOOLS: Requests the Orleans Parish School Board and the New Orleans City Council
to address blighted property near Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in the
Lower Ninth Ward prior to the 2015-16 school year
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Orleans Parish School Board and the New Orleans City Council to
3 address blighted property near Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in the
4 Lower Ninth Ward prior to the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.
5 WHEREAS, the Lower Ninth Ward suffered catastrophic damage during Hurricane
6Katrina; and
7 WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School is located in the Lower
8Ninth Ward just a few blocks from one of the levee breaches that occurred during the
9hurricane along the Industrial Canal; and
10 WHEREAS, this school began as an elementary school but has been growing steadily
11in recent years, and in 2012, it celebrated the high school graduation of its first senior class;
12and
13 WHEREAS, the school plays a very important role in the community as the only
14public high school in the Lower Ninth Ward; it has become a true neighborhood institution
15and is beloved by its students, faculty, staff, and alumni and by the community as a whole;
16and
17 WHEREAS, the school's mission is to create and maintain an orderly, trusting
18environment where teaching and learning are innovative and exciting and where students are
19taught to read, write, compute, and think critically according to their fullest potential; and
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HR NO. 227
1 WHEREAS, the school is expanding its high school program into a newly
2constructed facility that is expected to open in the fall of 2015; and
3 WHEREAS, though the Lower Ninth Ward has made great progress in the near-
4decade since the storm due to the hard work and dedication of its passionate and tireless
5residents, there are still blighted areas near this school that many feel tarnish neighborhood
6pride, bring down property values, and pose hazards for community members, including the
7children attending the school; and
8 WHEREAS, there is both a strong need and strong community support for the
9improvement of the area surrounding the school, and community members have expressed
10concern publicly about the state of the tall grass and weeds that are protruding into
11neighborhood streets and interfering with school bus routes, the vermin that occupy the
12overgrown areas, and the dumping in neglected and unkempt lots of everything from
13mattresses to construction materials and debris; and
14 WHEREAS, addressing the blight near the school, which is a cornerstone of this
15community, would not only reinforce this unique neighborhood's committed and steadfast
16revitalization efforts but would serve as a welcome and hopeful example of the ongoing
17restoration and rebuilding that is possible throughout the Lower Ninth Ward, the city of New
18Orleans, and all hurricane-affected areas in Louisiana as the tenth anniversary of Katrina
19approaches; and
20 WHEREAS, the improvement of this area is long overdue, and in order to enable the
21school to fulfill its mission of creating and maintaining an orderly, trusting environment, it
22is necessary and appropriate that the Orleans Parish School Board and the New Orleans City
23Council address the blight near the school before faculty, students, and staff return for the
24opening of the new school facility in the fall of 2015.
25 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
26Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Orleans Parish School Board and
27the New Orleans City Council to address blighted property near Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
28Charter School in the Lower Ninth Ward prior to the beginning of the 2015-2016 school
29year.
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HR NO. 227
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
2to the president of the Orleans Parish School Board, who shall be responsible for
3disseminating copies to each member of the school board, and to New Orleans City
4Councilman James Austin Gray II, who represents the Lower Ninth Ward and who shall be
5responsible for disseminating copies to each member of the city council.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 227 Original 2015 Regular Session Wesley Bishop
Requests that the Orleans Parish School Board and the New Orleans City Council address
the blighted property near Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in the Lower Ninth
Ward prior to the beginning of the 2015-16 school year.
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