The school buses didn’t roll because Phillis Landreau was on the school board ( president iirc) and made sure they weren’t allowed to be used. Check out the local paper (Picceune)
There were several articles before Katrina hit on the HUD fraud going on in the ninth district. Seems papa Landreau who started HUD under Carter taught the locals how to get rich using it and it was all about to explode. With the flooding of NOLA it all became moot. Coincidence ;-)
The fight between the Landreau s and the mayor was in full swing when the hurricane hit-— the chocolate man wouldn’t stay in his place!
Reading those articles were very enlightening They’re logged on FR somewhere but can’t remember the keyword I used
Times-Picayune. Nola.com. Try archives if you’re interested