I live in a city that is losing its young couples, young couples with families, by the dozens. People are tired of the crime, the inside-politics, the slow wheels of federal government to trickle down to their flooded-out doorstep. But things keep people here, strangely. Like the Saints. They are winning. They may be going to the Super Bowl. Divine intervention for a team aptly named. And there are other signs. Like the news of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt deciding to move here and to, "send their kids to school in New Orleans." But wait, that's not a sign for the good. These are the celebutantes that hand out Christmas gifts in Cambodia--in front of the pandering press. To me this only solidifies that fact that New Orleans is in the third-world realm. Our public education system is in complete disrepair.
Before Katrina struck the Orleans Parish school system was in the process of being taken over by a national financial turn-around firm and was being investigated by the FBI for wrong-doing and mismanagement of about $20 million dollars. The storm was a chance to clean house. Well, don't hold your breath. And our racially divided private school system is not helping matters. No one is invested in our public system because no one goes there. Except to urban gems such as Lusher Elementary. A public magnet school that is now a charter of the public school system and is ranked as the state's top public offering. Haves and have nots. Maybe Jolie would like to talk to me about how to get into Lusher. Or maybe they'll just charter a school themselves.
I don't mean to be cynical. It's just that every one around me is leaving this place and I can't deny that I am not thinking of it myself. My husband and I are such tormented souls. We decided last Saturday night after the Saints won that if they did indeed win the Super Bowl we would stay. We would fight for what we love and consider Sean Payton our messiah. And if they lose, well, we're outta here. So for a family that has never, ever watched a football game it is now the prime focus of our lives. This is pure insanity. So is New Orleans. And so is the idea that Jolie and Pitt would really want to move here and raise their family. But you know, they may just fit right in with the rest of us.
