Ellen Donatto News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Haynes, a former president of the Louisiana Association of Educators who was Board vice-president in 2022, ran unopposed in the November School Board election

Closing some schools and building new ones as part of a consolidation plan might save the District money, board member Mary Ellen Donatto said.

Washington Elementary, which features one of the smallest student populations in St. Landry Parish, is being allowed to remain open next year with the possibility of educating even fewer students. St. Landry Parish School Board members made the decision Thursday night after weighing several grade configurations and a potential closing of the school located in an historic town with a population of about 1,000. The issue of what to do about the school has occupied several hours of discussion during board meetings over the last two months. Last week, Washington Mayor Dwight Landreneau delivered...

The sensitive issue of possibly closing and reconfiguring several St. Landry Parish public elementary schools outside Opelousas is again creating extensive debate and bitter personal accusations among board members on both sides of the dispute. Board members discussed at length but took no action Thursday night on a proposed plan presented by Superintendent Patrick Jenkins that converts three Eunice elementary schools into kindergarten through fourth grade campuses and redesigns another school into a citywide Head Start program. Also included in Jenkins’ proposal is the possible grade-level...