A way to save Catahoula Elementary?

At a special meeting Monday evening the St. Martin School Board narrowly approved a backup plan that would keep Catahoula Elementary open if a federal judge refuses to allow the school to continue as a preK-grade 8 facility.
After huddling with attorneys and a demographic consultant in executive (secret) session for more than an hour, the board voted 5-4 to allow its attorneys to present the plan to federal Judge Elizabeth E. Foote if she rejects board arguments to let the school continue operation under its present configuration.
Once again the meeting drew a packed house of concerned Catahoula residents who were often very vocal in their support of several speakers who all urged the board to pursue a legal battle against the school’s closure at whatever cost.
The newest plan, presented by attorney Bob Hammonds, would keep Catahoula open as a preK to grade 5 school but transfer grade 6, 7 and 8 students to St. Martinville Jr. High.
In addition, the Catahoula attendance zone for grades 2 to 5 would be shifted west all the way to La. 347 (Cemetery/Resweber Hwy) from just south of St. Martinville’s corporate limits to just north of the Boone Lasseigne Road to include the Francis Loop Road area.
This would result in an influx of students, including a number of blacks, living along the east side of the highway including a small portion of St. Martinville.
The latest proposal would not affect the Early Learning Center (grades preK-1), but it would result in the bussing of Catahoula students to St. Martinville and St. Martinville area students to Catahoula.
Several board members emphasized that adoption of the new alternative did not mean the board would abandon its plan to argue that the school be left alone, but would only serve as a fall back option in the event Judge Foote rejects those efforts.
Hammonds told the crowd that he had informed lawsuit opponents that the closure proposal had been rejected by the board and that the trial was scheduled to begin in mid-January.
“We cannot make any promises as to just what action the trial might result in,” he said while recommending adoption of the alternate proposal.
Board member Russell Foti, who represents the Catahoula area, said the issue was not a black and white one. “Nobody likes bussing. It results in an undue burden on everybody and just doesn’t make sense. We need to take this fight as far as we can.”
The board allowed comments from 11 different speakers that included parents, former students and a teacher, all of whom urged the board to fight hard to keep the school open as it has existed for almost 80 years.
Parish Councilman Clay Courville pointed out that the board has recently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars improving the school facilities. And parent Lanie Boudreaux urged the board to “put your lawyers to work.”
Another parent, Ruben Gardemal, said closing the school would be discriminating against native born Cajuns and threatened legal action against the board.
Jude Theriot, a Catahoula graduate who has gone on to earn advanced medical degrees, said his extensive research into the community’s history “never turned up any indication that the school was ever found to practice discrimination. There’s zero evidence that anyone who wanted to attend the school was turned away because of race.”
Jackie Theriot, a former board president who also spoke at last week’s meeting, said closure of the school “would ruin a lot of lives in Catahoula. I’ve even heard talk about some parents moving out.”
He also pointed out that the Catahoula school’s Performance Score assigned by the state was 76.9 while the St. Martinville Jr. High score was 56.8, suggesting Catahoula students would be forced out of a high performing school to attend one with much lower achievement.
In supporting the latest alternative, Superintendent Dr. Lottie Beebe told the crowd “You don’t know all the details (behind the proposal).” She said the school she attended as a child in the St. Landry community of Melville had been closed. “And now there’s nothing to Melville.”
Voting to opt for the latest proposal were Jimmy Blanchard, Burton Dupuis, Floyd Knott, Frederic Stelly and Wanda Vital while opponents included Foti, Aaron Flegeance, Steve Fuselier and Richard Potier.
Board president Mark Hebert did not vote but said after the meeting that he supported the alternate proposal.