This week is important for the future of New Orleans.As our state legislators consider the issues Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco has laid before them in the special session, one in particular promises to determine our fate. It looks like the governor finally understands.The governor has asked for the state of Louisiana to formally take over most of the New Orleans Public Schools. She should amend her request to let the state take over the entire system. Anything less is folly. No part of the Orleans Parish school system is worth saving.The system has been broken for years. Any level of scrutiny reveals inadequacy ranging to criminal neglect of a school system's only purpose - to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children to learn how to read and write.The present system has failed on every level. The children have no expectation of achievement or safety. The children have no expectation that anyone from the School Board on down gives a damn about them.That can - and should - change in one fell swoop. Hurricane Katrina has given us the opportunity to fix past sins.