A building plan for St. Landry Parish public schools began to take shape at a meeting Monday of the School Board’s Buildings, Lands and Sites Committee meeting.
But there was no vote so the plan that will be presented to voters on March 24 remains uncertain.
What did emerge at Monday’s meeting where representatives from consultant Volkert, Marco Gonzalez and Lyn Kenley, is there will be new elementary schools, some elementary schools will close and there will be a new high school in or near Port Barre.
The School Board has called an election on two tax proposals. One proposal is a 11.3 mill, 10-year tax to pay for salary increases. The other is a 12.1 mill, 20-year tax to fund a $99 million bond for capital improvements.
Both proposals have to pass to take effect.
The Board decided earlier this month that if the proposals pass certified employees would get $3,000 raises and other employees would get a $2,000 raise.
Board members have met in small groups on the building plan and it appeared Monday that there is consensus in some areas.
The planning is occurring based on the high schools and their feeder schools. The high schools are Eunice, Northwest, Opelousas, North Central, Port Barre and Beau Chene.
The outline also assigned dollar amounts for projects in each area: $26.4 million for Port Barre; $24 million for Opelousas; $19.4 million for Beau Chene; $25.9 million for Northwest; and $17.4 million for Eunice. Another $14.8 million is added into the plan if Port Barre and North Central high schools are combined.
Albert Hayes Jr., of Eunice, a member of the Buildings, Lands and Sites Committee, said Eunice would combine pre-kindergarten to kindergarten into one school, build a school for grades one through five and keep the remaining schools.
Mary Ellen Donatto, a Eunice Board member, said the configuration may change to pre-K to first in one building.
The plan would allow every Eunice public school student access to the new building, Hayes said.
In either configuration, two Eunice elementary schools would close and they were not named.
Washington Elementary was the only school named to close if the voters give their OK. And, Washington Elementary may be “repurposed” for use by the Washington Career and Technical Center.
The Opelousas plan was the least developed. There are six elementary schools in Opelousas, a junior high school, and two high schools — Opeousas Senior High and the Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts.
An outline stated five or six Opelousas schools would be kept, which means up to three elementary schools would be closed if the tax is OK’d.
At Northwest, Lawtell Elementary would be renovated or a new school would be built. Grand Prairie and Plaisance schools would remain in place.
At North Central,/Port Barre the high school may be combined with Port Barre High in a new facility. North Central High would be come an elementary school. Palmetto students may be moved to North Central and Port Barre Elementary would continue as a pre-K through fifth grade school Krotz Springs would remain at a pre-K to eighth grade school.
The feeder schools to Beau Chene High school would be pre-K to eighth grade at Leonville, Arnaudville, Grand Coteau, Sunset and Cankton.
Southern St. Landry Parish has been identified as growing in population, which may mean Cankton is changed to a pre-K to sixth grade school. Students in seventh and eighth grade at Cankton and Grand Coteau may be sent to Sunset.
The tax vote is for a $99 million bond issue and the outlined plan totaled $128 million.
Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said the overage may be covered by increased state funding and operational savings.
Jenkins also said he wants to develop two plans for the Board to consider before the March vote.
Kyle Boss, a south St. Landry Parish Board member, said, “We need to close some schools. We’ve been talking this for the last four, five years and we are still dragging our feet on it. Another year has come and we are going to have to open all those schools again next year.”
Opelousas area Board member Randy Wagley said, “I kind of look at schools like a church. It’s not the building, it is the people. It’s the same thing with schools.”
Wagley added, There is a reason the schools are declining and it ain’t because of the buildings they are in and it is not because they have five grades in one building. It is something else.”
Schools in Opelousas have been in decline in the state’s accountability program.
Wagley said reasons for the decline must be identified.
Jenkins said many students at the Opelousas schools need extra support.
