Principals and parents urge St. Landry Parish board to pause school-consolidation plan, citing rushed timeline and limited capacity

April Gendry, principal of Grand Prairie Elementary, told the board the proposed consolidation that would move Grand Prairie students to Playhouse Middle cannot be implemented in the time available. “School starts on August 13th. This gives us approximately one month after the board votes to make this proposed consolidation work,” Gendry said, adding that Playhouse is short “at least three full classrooms” and that the expected savings — roughly $1.7 million in personnel plus about $15,173 in operating costs in the district proposal — would not offset the disruption to students and staff.

Gendry emphasized Grand Prairie’s recent achievements, noting the campus was honored as a national Blue Ribbon school and has raised its school performance score. “You cannot unpack, rebuild, and expect that kind of success in four weeks when you don't even have enough classrooms,” she said, asking the board to “please pause this proposed consolidation” and pursue alternate ways to reduce expenditures.

Other principals and community members echoed those concerns. Angela Reed Thomas, principal of Broly Elementary, warned that closures would interrupt recent academic gains and harm staff morale, and proposed merging Growley and Northeast as a PreK–4 campus to preserve continuity. Adrien Renee, a parent and teacher at Groy Elementary, criticized a proposed magnet pipeline as divisive and argued that multiple campuses already run arts and enrichment programs that could be scaled districtwide.

Speakers also raised equity and historical-preservation arguments. Brenda Lo Hardy urged the board to consider keeping Central Middle (formerly Charles Drew High School) open because of its role as a community center and recent investments in a new gymnasium. Community members said forced mid-elementary moves and short timelines would create social and emotional stress for students and could prompt families to leave the district.

Board members and staff did not reject the concerns but countered with facility and capacity observations. One board member who said she visited schools and reviewed numbers told the audience some older campuses have reduced usable capacity because of program-space requirements and special-needs classrooms, and that safety and building condition factored into staff recommendations. The assistant superintendent warned the board is facing a substantial budget gap and that the superintendent’s plan aims to stabilize district finances.

After lengthy public comment and internal discussion, the board voted to extend public-comment slots from three to five minutes with discretion for presenters who were nearly finished. A board member also moved that the superintendent call a special board meeting immediately following the June 23 committee meeting so the board can finalize decisions; the committee agreed to ask the superintendent to place a detailed, school-specific consolidation item on the June 23 agenda so a special call could follow.

The committee did not adopt any closure decisions during the meeting. The superintendent and staff said work will continue and that the next formal opportunities for deliberation and potential action will be the committee meeting on June 23 and a special board meeting to be scheduled immediately afterward.