Parish Charter School Is Closing
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
St. Landry Public Charter School officials indicated on Wednesday that the state-operated school which began in 2021, will close at the end of the 2025-26 school session.
Executive Director Debbie Faul announced the projected closing of the Opelousas elementary school on the school Facebook page, saying the decision to cease operations was made “after careful consideration,” and one that” was not made lightly and not without difficulty by the school board of directors.”
Faul added on the social media post that school officials have scheduled a 5:30 p.m. meeting on Dec. 16 that will be held at the school in order to provide more information on the decision.
“We have made the difficult decision to relinquish our charter. We feel the weight of this moment with you and we know the emotions that it might bring,” Faul wrote in her post published on the school website.
Faul added that the decision to cease operations was made recently following a vote by the St. Landry Public Charter Board of Directors with intention of proceeding “responsibly” in order to meet all of the necessary requirements contained in the school charter.
St. Landry Public Charter was approved by state officials as a Type 2 charter school, meaning that it is operated and authorized under Louisiana Department of Education guidelines.
According to the school website, St. Landry Public Charter has been enrolling students in kindergarten through eighth grade for the upcoming academic year.
The school began accepting students five years ago at the former site of Cherry Street Academy.
In August of 2022, St. Landry Public Charter moved to its present location at the former Southwest Elementary School on Burr Street.
School officials said that at the start of the 2022-23 school year that St. Landry Public Charter had an enrollment of about 300 students, an increase from the 194 students who had attended the school at the Cherry Street Academy location in Park Vista.
St. Landry Public Charter purchased the former Southwest Elementary campus for $270,000 in 2022 and began cleaning the 10-acre site in time for the start of school.
Elsie Semien, a retired St. Landry Parish veteran administrator, is the principal at St. Landry Public Charter.
Faul said that school officials are available to answer questions and provide information with support for family members that might be affected by the decision.
