Jefferson charter school budget has $87,500 per student | NOLA.com

Jefferson charter school budget has $87,500 per student | NOLA.com:

Jefferson charter school budget has $87,500 per student

Published: Sunday, November 27, 2011, 7:30 AM

By Barri Bronston, The Times-Picayune

As Jefferson Parish public school officials consider opening more charter schools, they are questioning whether the system's first charter is doing enough to help at-risk students. Jefferson Community School now has seven teachers but just eight students, a ratio that would be the envy of many schools with much larger classes. It has a budget of almost $700,000 this year -- $87,500 per student, if the current enrollment doesn't change, and more than seven times the parish average.

Jefferson Community School Principal Glenn Gennaro; Jefferson Parish Schools Superintendent James Meza

In light of such disparities, interim Superintendent James Meza said he has asked Jefferson Community officials to rewrite the school's mission in order to serve a larger segment of the parish's at-risk population.

"It's not an issue of quality," Meza said. "We need to find a way to bring in more students who will benefit from the