Dollars and Dreams: Inside NOLA's Push for Smarter School Finance

Her voice steady but laced with the raw edge of memory, Dr. Fateama Fulmore stood before a room of finance pros and school leaders giving a glimpse into her rough childhood. Born in Brooklyn's shadow of the crack epidemic, she grew up in a home fractured by addiction and mental illness. Welfare checks kept the lights on, but it was school that saved her. "I was the kid who was grateful for my school lunch, breakfast, snacks, after school at the Boys and Girls Club," she said. "The best thing going on in my life as a kid was school."

That sanctuary wasn't just walls and desks. It was teachers who spotted her neglect, social workers who got involved after her mother kept her home in paranoia, and her principal who called in child services the day crack vials tumbled from her backpack. Removed from the custody of her mother, Fulmore found her way through public education's safety net. Today, as Superintendent of NOLA Public Schools, she sees echoes of that lifeline in every budget line. "Finances are often like the silent behind-the-scenes thing that really doesn't get the recognition it deserves," she told the crowd at the inaugural NOLA Public Schools' (NOLA-PS) Financial Stewardship in Action Conference on Oct. 27. "But when the problems hit, boy, finance is on the front page of all the things." Her message? Finance isn't drudgery. It's the muscle behind opportunity, the quiet force turning spreadsheets into second chances for students like she once was.

"I am the children we serve in many of our schools each day, and like some of our students, I was depending on everything my school had to offer," said Dr. Fulmore. "My school literally saved my life and set me on a path to a brighter future."

The conference, hosted at the Hilton on St. Charles, drew charter operators, district staff and partners hungry for tools to stretch every dollar. Dr. Fulmore kicked things off with gratitude for her CFO, Nyesha Veal, and the team behind the event. A huge sports fan and Jalen Hurts devotee, she toyed with titling her talk "Show Me the Money," but settled on "Funding the Future" the reason school finance truly matters. "It touches every classroom, every child, and fuels dreams," she said, urging attendees to champion students' worth and help change lives.

Next up, Dr. Anya Bailey Randle, Executive Director of School Systems/Financial Services at the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), drilled into the data backbone of it all. Her session, "Guided by Stewardship," hammered home a simple truth, "The most important thing for my presentation today is that the data provided for students and staff drives funding in school systems," Dr. Randle said. She flagged pitfalls like roster ghosts, students listed as enrolled but attending elsewhere, that trigger audits and clawbacks. Misclassifying staff? That shrinks funding fast. Her fix: Rigorous reconciliation. "Data Quality Matters, especially when it's for funding," she declared as her takeaway. "It's also important that finance people understand the reconciliation process between the data that's being reported and the funding that's being received."

John Holmes, NOLA-PS' Executive Director of Capital Improvements, shifted gears to bricks and mortar in the "Planning Ahead" session. With facilities aging underfoot, he stressed foresight over firefighting. The School Facilities Preservation Program (SFPP), he explained, acts like a district bank, with funds tied to specific campuses. "Administering the SFPP is like running a bank," Holmes said in a post-session chat. Leaks and failures pop up unannounced, so a fresh facilities conditions assessment is priority one. On the wish list: More legislative cash to "catch up, keep up, and get ahead."

Afternoon spotlights turned to youth pathways with Cate Swinburn and David Shepard of YouthForce NOLA. In "Investment in Action," they unpacked keeping Career and Technical Education (CTE) funds local. Swinburn, the organization's founder, shared how her group has funneled $60 million into internships for more than 1,750 public high schoolers since 2015. "We've rallied thousands of professionals, educators and community leaders to bring out the best in those who support young people on their path to career," she said, crediting the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC) as a game-changer. Shepard, Director of Policy and Data Strategy, touted the "Super App" he helped launch at LDOE – a planning tool for budgets and charters. A New Orleans native and former teacher, he tied it back home: "We set up systems to support and monitor progress towards ecosystem goals." Their pitch: Retain CTE dollars to build pipelines that stick, fueling both students' futures and the city's economy.

Holly Reid of New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO) wrapped the core talks with "Financial Sustainability." Enrollment, she stressed, is revenue's engine. "We're a little obsessed with money and getting as much dollars as possible into the hands of educators for their students," Reid said. NSNO's framework eyes three pillars: Academic gains for economically disadvantaged kids (now outpacing peers on LEAP scores), optimal enrollment matching capacity, and quality facilities. Post-COVID rebounds are real, but sustainability demands tough calls, like schools voluntarily turning in their charters to avoid bare-bones school programming.

A panel of charter Chief Financial Officers – Chris Hines of Crescent City Schools, Rebekah Cain of FirstLine Schools, and Charlie Mackles of InspireNOLA – unpacked those choices. Hines described merging with Arise to consolidate into a fuller facility: "We could absorb most of the staff... and then we would be operating a larger school, which would provide greater funding." Cain recalled shuttering Live Oak Pre-K-8, "We did not want to run a school that didn't have band, art, and a garden, and all the things that we know are just so important." Mackles nodded to enrollment dips forcing inefficiencies at InspireNOLA.

CFO Nyesha Veal, the event's torchbearer, reflected in a wrap-up interview, "The key word is stewardship, and everybody has a role in it. We have to pour back into our children and our students in order to keep dollars flowing in our city economically." Her top tips? Know your data, align to NOLA-PS' Strategic Plan of Action, and stay passionate. For families, she added, "Ultimately, how we're investing in our students helps you make the best decision possible for your children."

Dr. Fulmore closed with fire, circling back to her roots. "You all are champions for children, and you deserve to be honored and recognized as such," she said, calling for unity in NOLA-PS' decentralized system. In a city rebuilding dreams one budget at a time, this conference proved finance isn't just numbers. It's the thread, stitching poverty to possibility. "Thank you for being the stewards of our children's Future. Keep leading, keep believing, and keep building."