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OPSB committee advances cooperative agreement with City Park Conservancy for 12 acres at 5700 Wisner Blvd.; alumni urge protections
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Summary
The committee moved a cooperative‑endeavor agreement with City Park Conservancy over 12 acres at 5700 Wisner Boulevard to the full board after alumni speakers asked that the land remain available for John F. Kennedy extracurricular use and staff confirmed Jazz Fest/Greek Fest parking revenue protections.
The Orleans Parish School Board property committee voted March 24 to forward a recommended cooperative‑endeavor agreement with the City Park Conservancy covering 12 acres of 5700 Wisner Boulevard to the full board.
Two public commenters representing the John F. Kennedy alumni network asked the committee to preserve alumni and student use of the site. Tyka Watson Sr., an alumni representative, thanked staff for clarifying that the action "does not affect the part of the property that we utilize," urged continued access for alumni events and called the parcel "Sacred Land." Dominique Bright Wheeler, Esquire, representing Kennedy alumni, said she appreciated the agreement’s temporary language and asked the board to hold the Conservancy to that temporal limit.
Staff and board discussion clarified that the full parcel is 17 acres, that five acres remain tied to KIPP New Orleans’ lease for Kennedy alumni festivities and extracurricular activities, and that the 12 acres covered by this cooperative agreement are separate. Staff said the agreement aims to transfer maintenance responsibility for the covered acreage, reducing the district’s upkeep costs, and that protections are included so Jazz Fest and Greek Fest parking revenues that the district currently receives will continue to come to the district.
President Eames asked whether the school district would get revenue if City Park profits from use tied to a high‑profile tournament; staff replied the district is not a party to City Park’s agreements for events such as the LIV golf tournament and is not privy to those contracts, but that the cooperative agreement includes protections for the district’s event parking revenues.
The committee voted to advance the cooperative‑endeavor agreement to the full board; the committee vote recorded one "no" and one abstention. The matter will be presented to the full Orleans Parish School Board on Thursday for final action.
