The operator of a struggling New Orleans high school has laid off the principal and other school staffers months before the school is set to close — while students, some who have attended the school since kindergarten, try to make it to graduation.
Facing a budget shortfall as it prepares to wind down operations at Martin Luther King Jr. Charter High School for Sci Tech, the school operator has laid off more than 20 staff members, including the principal, former CEO and at least two teachers.
In December, the Orleans Parish School Board declined to renew the low-performing school’s contract, forcing the school to close at the end of the school year and leaving the Lower Ninth Ward without a high school. For now, the school continues to serve about 150 students…