I truly wish that Lusher would have turned down Cowen's handout, so that they could keep the integrity of the former admissions system.
That being said, what about the old days, when students like John Kennedy Toole went to Fortier? Could it happen again? (one shay, two shay, three shay, fo' shay!)
And with 3 kids, there was just no way on earth that I could afford Newman, at about $12k/kid/year = $36k for tuition (for kindergarten!!!), or even Ursuline, at about $6k/kid year, I'm looking at $18k/year = $1500/month = house payment. That's why I had to buy in the Lusher district.
That's precisely why I'm personally involved in Cowen's attack on Lusher. I'm not pulling down over half a mil a year, like Cowen, and this doesn't count his pay as director of American Greetings, Jo-Ann Stores, and Forest City Enterprises. He could afford Newman for 3 kids, unlike 99% of New Orleanians.
So he took the one thing we did have: a good, local public school.
I'm more sad than angry, but then, my kids haven't started school yet. Then, I'll be mad.
Ashley.
Are you in New Orleans?
Check this out -- among my wanderings around New Orleans looking at people's trash, I was especially drawn to vinyl recordings. The treasure I found was a 78 recording of the Fortier fight song. I live across the street from Fortier, so I've heard a lot of stories about the pride people had for the school back in the day (that's a longer discussion). The incredible thing is that someone, obviously, held on to that 78 for decades, only to throw it on a heap of moldy trash after Hurricane Katrina. It has a long crack in it, but it still played on my 78 player.
I'll be damned if I don't resurrect that thing from the dead.
I'll post an mp3 one of these days soon.
Posted by: schroeder | 21 January 2006 at 07:13 AM
First, thanks for the x-link to Wet Bank Guide. Second, Lusher had figured prominently in my plans to move back to NOLA. I think my daughter can make BF (and NOCCA, fingers crossed). But I worry about what I'm going to do with my own 10 year old son. I don't want to have to (and I'm not sure I can afford a house in NOLA+tuition). Hell, it would be swell to send him to CBS in the park where I went, or for my daughter to be third generation Dominican girl, but it ain't likely.
Posted by: Mark Folse | 28 January 2006 at 11:22 AM