Meeting supports school board's plans

Hattie Watts Principal Niki Fryou wants St. Mary residents to have faith in the school board.

That was the goal of a meeting Monday night at Patterson High School.

“We can stand and say they’re supporting what’s best for 9,000 children,” Fryou said.

“If you have concerns, I know these are the two ladies (board members Marilyn LaSalle and Ginger Griffin) you voted for, but the other board members want to hear. They want to hear what your thoughts are. They do care.”

School board President Griffin (District 5) and member LaSalle (District 6) represent the Patterson area. Board member Kenneth Alfred (District 3), also represents a small part of Patterson.

“They know, ultimately, they’re going to make that final decision,” Fryou said. “And that’s why they asked for extra time so they can hear everybody’s concerns.”

The district staff met with school board members in mid-January to start talking about possible budget cuts, Griffin said. They met four times.

One of the most controversial ideas is to close M.D. Shannon Elementary in Morgan City and J.A. Hernandez Elementary in Franklin. Supporters are calling the idea “consolidation” because students from those schools would be sent to other district schools

“I felt like we had a pretty decent plan,” Griffin said. “And I’m pretty much trying to go with what the staff was recommending that they’ve done all the research. They’ve crunched the numbers.

“I think all board members are saying, ‘We need to consolidate,’” Griffin said. “The issue is not my school. And that’s the bottom line.”

The average number of students per school in Franklin (District 1) is 330; 370 in Morgan City (District 3); and 486 in Patterson (District 2).

If the consolidation plans are approved, both Franklin (372) and Morgan City (432) elementary schools would still have fewer students per school than in Patterson (District 2).

“I think consolidation is a no-brainer,” Griffin said. “And I think we all know that, but we’ve got to step up.”

A meeting room full of St. Mary residents attended last week’s special school board meeting. The board put off a decision about closing the two schools for three weeks.

“After the meeting Thursday, I’m beginning to get a little concerned here,” Griffin said. “Are we willing to step up as a board, as a whole, and make this happen? And that’s where my concern is.”

Board member Anthony Streva , District 10, a former principal at Shannon and M.E. Norman, said consolidation is bound to happen, but he needs more time.

“I want to make sure that those children, wherever they go, that they will be in the best possible learning environment,” Streva said.

“We’re in Phase 1,” Alfred said. “And the two smallest schools are the ones we concentrated on.

“We’re in dire straits right now,” Alfred said. “We’re $4 million in the hole. By the time the legislative session is over, there’s no telling how much our budget is scheduled to be in the hole.

“We’re ready for up to $8 or $9 million to be in the hole,” Alfred said. “And if that happens, it’ll be a whole lot more than two schools shutting down. I can pretty much guarantee you that.”

Fryou informed the community that maintaining quality instruction is a priority for the school board.

“Quality instruction comes at cost,” Fryou said. “We’re not here to say close this school or close that school, open this school or open that school. That’s not for us to decide you all.

“But what we want to tell you is if we don’t save money, it is going to affect Patterson schools,” Fryou said. “We have to save money, and that means everybody.”

The Patterson school leaders met with teachers, cafeteria workers, and custodians to discuss the budget crisis and its possible effects.

Fryou, a Morgan City resident, kept hearing comments related to consolidation such as “‘oh, our class sizes are going to be ridiculous,” Fryou said.

“Well, we crunched the numbers,” Fryou said. “Our average class sizes at Watts … were 21 for 10 years.”

For many years, Watts’ kindergarten and first-grade teachers had as many as 24 students in a class all year long, Fryou said.

“That’s just the way it is because we’re booming,” Fryou said. “People are moving to Patterson.”

“We’re not here to bash anybody,” Patterson Junior High Principal Suzanne Bergeron said. “We want to make sure that we can all work together. And that we get the right information out to the people in the Patterson community.”

The school board also wants to save jobs, Fryou said.

“Whether they close a school, consolidate middle schools, it doesn’t matter,” Fryou said. “They have promised that those people would keep their jobs.”

The number of faculty and staff members would be reduced as teachers change jobs or retire, she said.