Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — State and local education officials are asking for an audit and criminal investigation of a New Orleans charter school for stripping copper from its publicly owned building and selling the parts for cash.
The International High School of New Orleans occupies the former Rabouin School Building.
School and Recovery School District officials did not immediately return a request for comment Saturday, NOLA.com ' The Times-Picayune (http://bit.ly/1KwLqXc) reported Sunday.
School leaders admit that they never asked permission before removing and selling copper from the heating and air conditioning system, according to a letter signed Friday by state education Superintendent John White and Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard.
The letter signed Friday said school officials used money from the sale to buy window air conditioners now used to cool the school. It asked the state legislative auditor and Orleans Parish district attorney to investigate a possible "misappropriation of public assets."
White and Dobard wrote that they're not trying to evict the school, which "is performing well academically and doing well for its students."
Stan Smith, interim Superintendent for the Orleans Parish School Board, told the news organization Saturday that the board learned in August that copper was missing from the building and immediately forwarded the information to the RSD.
Charter schools using publicly owned buildings must ask permission before removing or selling assets, including furniture and building components, Smith said. He said schools generally know they must ask to replace worn-out furniture, and he's never before seen copper removed without permission.
Smith said he could not comment on the RSD's investigation, including whether International High School officials knew they might be breaking the law.
"I don't know enough about the circumstances to know whether they knew the rules or didn't know the rules," Smith said.
___
Information from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
