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May 28, 2013
The halls will be silent at four Terrebonne Parish elementary schools come fall.
The school board agreed to shutter Dularge, Greenwood, West Park and Boudreaux Canal elementary schools, despite pleas from several parents who addressed the board at its meeting last week. The change will reportedly save the school system $1 million annually, largely on electricity and maintenance costs.
The decision comes two weeks after the public overwhelmingly denied a 31-mill property tax increase intended to stave off a burgeoning deficit in excess of $6 million. Voters rejected the proposal with a whopping 76 percent.
“Those who voted against the May 4 tax said that they do not care about the parish’s school system,” Clifton Stoufflet, of Houma, told the board. “Fine, let’s give them a school system that is not progressive. Cut all programs that are not state-mandated.”
Stoufflet challenged the school board to eliminate athletics and liberal arts programs, as well as the four-by-four schedule.
“These suggestions are not pretty, but what happened May 4 was not pretty either,” he said.
Instead, the school board agreed to consolidate four area elementary and middle schools. “These are manageable, small-sized schools,” Superintendent Philip Martin said. “This is the last option. We will have to make more distasteful decisions if we don’t consolidate now. … I wish we had more options, but we are at the end of our financial rope.”
The changes for the coming school year are:
• Students from Dularge Elementary will attend Dularge Middle, increasing the student population to 342. Seventh graders at Dularge Middle will attend Houma Junior High.
• Youngsters who attended Greenwood Elementary will attend Bayou Black or Gibson elementary schools, depending on which is closest to their home. The change will increase Bayou Black’s population to 187 students and Gibson’s to 211. Seventh graders will attend Evergreen Junior High.
• The majority of West Park Elementary students will attend Legion Park Elementary, increasing the student population to 382. West Park’s seventh grade will transfer to Houma Junior High.
• Boudreaux Canal students will transfer to Upper Little Caillou Elementary School, raising the facility’s total of students to 537.
Letters notifying affected students’ parents of the changes were mailed last week.
Martin said the changes are still in their infancy and the final redistribution of educators is pending. Most teachers at closed schools will transfer with students to the new facilities; others will fill other district vacancies, he said. “Student- teacher ratios will be slightly lower or higher than the district average, but we don’t have that number yet.”
For now, the school district will retain ownership of the closed buildings. Martin did not rule out reopening the schools if demographics in the area change. “My crystal ball is not that clear at this point,” he said. “It’s too early to make that decision.”
At least 60 parents and locals packed the school board meeting room in hopes of stopping the school closures. Parent after parent voiced concerns about money devoted to extracurricular activities versus classroom support, classroom size and services at the consolidated schools and the future employment of educators at the closed schools.
“You are sending 88 children to a school where there are already 500 students,” Tracy Price, of Chauvin, said. “The classrooms are already overcrowded and Superintendent (Philip) Martin has already said no to using portable buildings.”
Price worried aloud that the closures, teamed with the parish’s pay structure, could cost Terrebonne qualified instructors.
“Here in Terrebonne Parish, a teacher with a master’s degree earns $350 more per year than a teacher with a four-year degree,” she said. “In Lafourche, (teachers) earn $3,000 more a year.”
Parent Naomi LeBouef, who serves as vice president of Boudreaux Canal Elementary’s Parent Teacher Club, argued that closing the school will leave students alienated.
“This is a small community school and it is like home to some,” she said. “If you move these kids to Upper Little Caillou it will be like throwing M&Ms in a bag of rice.”
LeBouef said she knew of one teacher who is transferring from Boudreaux Canal to Upper Little Caillou. “I put in a special request to make sure my son would be in her class,” she said. “But what about the rest of the students?
“The (school) system can’t control (its) spending,” an emotional LeBouef said. To Martin, she added, “I don’t think the students matter to you. It’s just about the money.” The comment drew applause and cheers from the crowd.
Jennifer Ayo, whose autistic son attends West Park Elementary, said the school’s smaller class size helped her child master his subjects. “It’s a wonderful school,” she touted.
Ayo also asked that the school secretary, who is familiar with all of West Park’s students, be moved to Legion Park for continuity.
“Natasha (Adams) knows the students and she takes care of the kids,” Ayo said.
“I knew it would be an emotional issue, and I am glad it is,” Martin said, acknowledging public apprehension. “It shows the people care about the education of our children.”
School board members defended their vote, repeating their commitment to the education of the public school district’s 19,000 students.
“I am glad for the heartfelt responses and concern for the students, but we don’t have the money,” board president Roger “Dale” Dehart said. “Consolidation is not what I want to do. I don’t know any other way to do it where we can keep all of our employees.”
Dehart said $11 million has been cut from the system’s budget, yet test scores continue to improve – a testament to the district’s teachers.
A last-ditch effort by school board member Debi Benoit to apply the facility transfers to incoming students, thus keeping the four schools open until existing students advance, was denied.
“We need savings now, so no grandfathering,” Martin said of the counterproposal. “We need to deal with the fire at hand.”
Board member Brenda Leroux Babin voted against the closures, arguing that teachers accepted job offers within the system prior to the May 4 tax millage vote and the subsequent decision to shutter schools. “What is the plan for our teachers?” she asked. “Do we go back on our word?”
Ultimately, board members said their vote was a reflection of the desperate financial situation facing the school district.
“We can’t wait any longer … we are just about bankrupt,” board member Donald Duplantis said. “We are cutting fat this year, but, next year, it could be to the bone.”
Parents voice their concerns at the Terrebonne Parish School Board meeting last week prior to a vote to close four elementary schools: Dularge Elementary, Greenwood Elementary, West Park Elementary and Boudreaux Canal Elementary schools. “We can’t wait any longer … we are just about bankrupt,” board member Donald Duplantis said of the decision.
