








Seeking to grasp what she called a "golden opportunity for rebirth" out of the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina, Gov Kathleen Babineaux Blanco asked the Louisiana legislature last week to embrace a plan that would give the state control of most New Orleans public schools. The plan was to be taken up in a 17-day special legislative session that was called to deal with a range of matters linked to devastation from Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Babineaux's move came days after the New Orleans school board decided to convert 20 of the district's school to charter status.
