The need to nurture trust in the school system was one of the final discussions in St. Landry Parish school Superintendent Patrick Jenkins’ “listening tour” Monday in Eunice.
Jenkins held a morning session at Cafe Mosaic and and an evening gathering at East Elementary.
Jenkins asked the East Elementary partcipants about how the district might pass a tax.
Crystal Wiley, a school counselor said, about trust, “That is one of the things that I heard repeatedly when it came to the taxes was that they did not trust the district to use the money for what they said they were going to do.”
T. J. Calvin, of Eunice, said people need to know what the school system’s needs are.
George Soileau, retired East Elementary principal, said the money for a tax must be dedicated.
In March, voters crushed two tax proposals.
The 10-year, 11.3- mill tax to pay for school employee pay raises received 3,718 “Yes” votes and 10,163 “No” votes, according to the state Secretary of State website. Turnout was 23 percent.
The second proposition, a 20-year, 12.1-mill to fund a $99 million capital improvement plan failed by a 3,592 to 10,129 vote.
Both taxes had to pass to go into effect.
Jenkins has said his tour is, in part, a response to that ballot defeat.
“What are our opportunities?” Jenkins asked.
“Consolidation,” said, Eunice School Board member Albert Hayes Jr.
Hayes said the school district needs to show the public it can close a school “and do it right.”
If a school is closed the public does not want to see an eyesore left.
Jenkins said about consolidation, “For every 14 teachers through consolidation or closing of schools 14 teachers equals $1 million.”
He added, “Just think about it. We’ve got 33 schools, 37 sites. If you lost one teacher across each of those sites, one teacher across each site, that is $2 million just like that. So, that does help in terms of consolidation or closures.”
But Hayes said if savings occur in Eunice, that money should stay in Eunice.
Consolidation and closures would help the district avoid raising taxes.
Mary Ellen Donatto, another Eunice School Board, member and a retired East Elementary principal, said, “People are shocked that we have a little more than 13,000 children and we are running 37 campuses. In many areas that number of children are housed in maybe half that number of campuses.”
A study a few years ago found $1.5 million might be saved in utility, maintenance, insurance and other costs could be saved in reducing structures.
“There are some things we can do without passing a tax to show the general public that we are working hard and maybe entice them to help us,” she said.
Donatto said there are also academic benefits to consolidation.
‘We are running schools with 150 children, 200 children. When you do that you are losing money and you are losing opportunities,” she said.
“The sacrifice has to be made,” she said about consolidation.
In April, following the failure at the polls, the School voted 7-5 to table re-configurations, consolidations and closures.
Donatto and Hayes were among those voting against tabling additional action on the school plan.
East Elementary is an “A” school in the state accountability system and Jenkins said he wanted to hold a meeting there so the public can see quality education can occur in an older facility. But he also noted the school has about 300 students and only two bathrooms as way of noting its age.
Soileau, a former principal at the school, said there were 500 students and two bathrooms when he was leading the school.
Soileau said the school was at “rock bottom” when he became principal.
Everyone worked together to raise the school, he said. “The lunchroom workers, the janitors, everybody else worked together and ... and look where it is today,” he said.
“Even back then we had more home life,” Soileau said. “There is such a lack of home life now. The kids go home to what?”
Wiley, the counselor, said there has been a cultural shift and education needs to be reinforced as a community issue.
Donatto said, “We have grandparents raising children. Actually, that used to be the norm. We have great-grandparents raising children now. And, so now we have the situation where we have millenials teaching and great-grandparents rearing.”
Jenkins said the problem is not unique to Eunice and that was pointed out by a group assisting the parish in developing a strategic plan.
Calvin asked about voting on a tax designated for the Eunice area and Jenkins said that can be done, but the millage rate may be significantly more than a parishwide rate.
Establishing an independent Eunice area school district is possible, Jenkins said, but it would have to got through the Legislature and statewide vote.
Soileau said a Eunice school district was discussed years ago, but was dropped “after a lot of discussion.”
Topics the morning session included:
— Quintin Doyle, a Eunice Police officer, spoke about the Dads and Kids program in Eunice. The program seeks males to help on school campuses, he said.
— Donnie Fontenot said there is a need for art supplies in the schools.
— Gabrielle Reed said she loved the school tax plan presented to voters in March.
On Tuesday, Jenkins held meetings in Port Barre.
Morning sessions are scheduled from 8 to 9 .m. and the town halls are from 6 to 7 p.m.
The Coffee and Conversation schedule includes:
Oct. 10: Grand Prairie Elementary Library, 669 Highway 363, Washington.
Oct. 11: Old Courtableau Cafe, 104 N. Main St., Washington.
Oct. 17: Java Square, 103 W. Landry St., Opelousas.
Oct: 18, Chicory’s Coffee and Cafe, 219 E. Martin Luther King Drive, Grand Coteau.
The Town Hall schedule includes:
Oct. 10, Lawtell Elementary Cafeteria, 1013 School Road, Opelousas.
Oct. 11: Palmetto Elementary Cafeteria, 235 Rideau Road, Palmetto.
Oct. 17: Park Vista Elementary Cafeteria, 1000 Abdalla Blvd., Opelousas.
Oct. 18: Grand Coteau Elementary Cafeteria, 238 Church St., Arnaudville.
