Harlan Kirgan
A French immersion charter school planned for Sunset will seek a state charter after the St. Landry Parish School Board limited it to 30 students from the parish.
Jerry Domengeaux, board president for Academie Franco-Louisianaise de Sunset, said the school cannot start operations with only 30 students from St. Landry Parish.
The St. Landry Parish School Board approved the school at its April 12 meeting, but included the 30 student limit. The Type 1 charter would place the school under the authority of the local board.
The state Type 2 charter allows a school to operate independently and draw students from any parish.
Lafayette Parish refused to allow its students to cross the parish line to attend the school.
The charter school did not approach any other parishes for students, Domengeaux said.
The school can reach a 60-student enrollment if it can draw students from any parish and there is no cap on the number of students from St. Landry Parish he said.
“We are not opening this school to hurt anyone,” he said.
Stephen Ortego, speaking for the charter group at the April 12 meeting, said, “I think anyone in the public can understand a school with only 30 students is not really a school.”
He added, “We don’t want to start a school that is going to fail.”
The plan is to eventually locate the school at the former Sunset High School.
Nicole Boudreaux, also with the charter school, said the group has experts in French immersion involved.
“This should be your crown jewel for the school system, but we have to make it successful and limiting it to 30 students is a disservice to St. Landry Parish, a disservice to the community,” she said at the April 12 School Board meeting.
Patrick Jenkins, school superintendent, said the application originally had 23 students and the School Board agreed to raise that 30 students and not limit to students from outside the parish.
Ortego said he was familiar with the original application stating 23 students, but it was a budget number. There was never an agreement to limit an initial enrollment from the parish to 23 students, he said.
The lone vote against the charter was from Eunice School Board member Albert Hayes Jr.