WASHINGTON — Supporters and community members gathered Wednesday night at Washington Elementary to voice their concerns about St. Landry Parish Superintendent Milton Batiste’s plan to close the school.
The community did not hold back in expressing their opposition to the proposal, with Batiste also in attendance.
"They have brought their scores up to a C-plus school, so why are they being given this disservice?" said one grandparent.
"So, in this case, we all need to rethink a better proposal for Washington Elementary other than closing the school," said Johnnie Fontenot, whose children and grandchildren attended the school.
Parents, school staff, public officials, and community members rallied against Batiste’s plan, asking questions and raising concerns about how the closure would impact the town’s economy, as well as students, teachers, and parents.
"My heart is with this school. We did everything to rebuild it from a failing school," said Mary Lavergne, a Washington Elementary alumna and District 4 councilwoman. "It will be an economic hardship on this town if we lose our school. We need our school."
Lavergne emphasized that Batiste's plan would rip the very heart of the Washington community apart.
"It’s the heart of the community. If you take the heart out of the community, it will dry out and I know that because I went to this school and I’m just so disappointed," said Lavergne.
Under Batiste’s proposal, Washington Elementary would close, and the building would be repurposed into a career and technical school. Students would be transferred to Grand Prairie Elementary, Port Barre Elementary, Palmetto Elementary, and Plaisance Middle School.
"Our kids are not going to be better off, so let’s not create that narrative," said Washington Elementary Principal Kyle Sylvester.
Batiste explained to the crowd that Washington Elementary’s students need to be in schools that are departmentalized, where teachers are not responsible for teaching multiple subjects at once and being overworked teaching multiple subjects and grades.
But supporters of Washington Elementary made it clear to Batiste that they would not back down.
"We will protest, because this is what we do. We are Washington," said one supporter.
In response to the proposed closure, supporters have launched a petition in the hopes of gathering enough signatures to prevent the school from closing if the St. Landry Parish School Board votes to approve the plan during a special meeting Thursday.
