SLPSB Has New Leaders, Old Problems
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
Now that all the congratulatory remarks have been put aside, the new St. Landry Parish School Board leadership selected on Thursday night will still be confronted with same financial and potential consolidation issues that pursued them at the end of 2024.
Board president Bianca Vedell and vice-president Randy Wagley were voted into their new positions by acclamations and now it will be their tasks to guide the 11 other elected school officials in 2025.
Their terms at this point won’t be without recurring difficulty.
The District will be without COVID-19 funding for the first time in nearly five years and there will perhaps be a need to close schools and reconstitute others in order to save money.
Although neither of those issues was mentioned during the Thursday meeting, both will surely be discussed Jan. 25 when the Board convenes for a quarterly retreat at 9 am.
In her brief introductory address, Vedell, who represents District 5, said that education is a subject which has always been regarded as important to her.
Vedell, the 2024 vice-president, added that she is also prepared to collaborate with all the District stakeholders in order to move the school system forward.
No More ESSER
The Board used the $103 million the District received from COVID revenues to institute facility improvements at all 34 school sites, provide COVID mitigation procedures for students and school sites, provide several pay incentives for school employees and launch a vigorous capital outlay project that constructed new classroom buildings at a number of elementary and middle schools.
That funding however won’t be available moving into 2025.
Student Loss
District officials also have to tackle the ongoing matter of annual student attendance loss, which means that fewer state dollars will be received in 2025 to compensate for expenses.
If it’s any compensation, other public school systems including nearby Lafayette Parish, have their own problems with reduced student attendance. In Lafayette, an influx of new charter schools, particularly in Broussard, Youngsville and on the north side of the city are educating students that normally would have attended public schools.
Should Campuses Be Closed?
In order to reduce overall costs, the St. Landry District is set on continuing further discussion about whether to close some campuses in order to offset expenses.
There will probably be one less middle school in Opelousas as declining student numbers will necessitate combining Opelousas and Creswell Middle schools.
Board members are expected to also engage in conversations about whether to close and combine other rural elementary schools in addition to perhaps consolidating one or two schools in Eunice.
Financially property taxes are expected to bring in slightly more revenue, while parish wide sales taxes continue to rise slightly. Higher state sale tax costs after June 30 should continue to increase school board tax revenues.
Overall 2025 could be an intriguing year for school officials who will now oversee a District that will rely almost entirely on traditional funding sources.
