Is There Helix Remorse For SB?
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
St. Landry Parish Board members spent nearly half an hour Tuesday night debating whether allowing Helix AI and Medical School Academy to open its 17-acre Opelousas campus represents a positive step for the District.
The lively discussion among board members occurred after Helix president and CEO Preston Castille provided his quarterly District update for the $35 million facility where 497 students now attend kindergarten through fifth grade classes.
Helix began accepting students in August and according to Castille, the school has 134 new applicants for admission next year when the school expands to sixth grade.
Castille also indicated that Helix has construction plans for building a middle school and gymnasium adjacent to the current classroom complex.
Athletic fields and a high school classroom building are part of an overall Helix plan for more growth, said Castille.
For a school system that continues to deal with annual student losses and operating budget deficits, the increasing enrollment at Helix unveils another district revenue problem, board member Kyle Boss told Castille.
“We’re losing (state) money, We’re not making anything. We’re not getting anything,” Boss said.
According to a state minimum foundation funding formula, school districts receive nearly $10,000 annually for each public school student.
Castille reminded Boss and other board members attending a series of monthly committee meetings that individuals from the Opelousas area indicated that they wanted new schools that the District was unable to provide.
The Board decision to allow Helix to become a state-approved charter school came after Opelousas-area voters in 2022 rejected a ballot proposal that ,if passed, would have allowed the District to bond property tax revenues in order to fund new schools across the city.
“What is happening is not by accident. The data shows (Helix) is by design. It is something that the community has asked for,” Castille said.
Several of the current board members and Superintendent Milton Batiste III were not representing the District when the decision to allow Helix to apply for the charter was approved.
Castille also pointed out that Helix is encouraging students who left the St. Landry District to return.
Some Helix students who previously attended private, charter or parochial schools, have enrolled at Helix in addition to other students who have been home schooled, according to Castille.
Raymond Cassimere, a board member that was elected when the Helix decision was made, said the Board three years ago knew exactly what would occur when the Helix decision was approved.
Now Cassimere said, it’s up to the board members to craft an overall system plan that addresses facilities and funding.
