ST. LANDRY PARISH — Members of the St. Landry Parish School Board learned Tuesday night that the state is giving the district about two weeks to develop a plan to merge Opelousas Junior High School and Opelousas Senior High School.
According to a letter sent to the district last week, Opelousas Junior High has received a letter grade of F for seven consecutive years and has experienced declining enrollment over the past decade.
The state is now presenting the district with two options: turn the school over to the state or merge the two campuses into one consolidated school serving grades seven through 12.
You can read the full letter here:
The proposal drew mixed reactions from board members and community advocates.
“You know it’s not the fault of the children, and I just think that it’s a terrible idea,” said Hazel Sias, a school board member representing District 10.
Superintendent Milton Batiste told the board that the district submitted a strategic academic reconstruction plan for Opelousas Junior High about a year ago. The plan included leadership changes, additional district-level support and partnerships at the state level. However, those efforts were not enough to prevent potential state takeover.
Rod Sias, a school advocate, said he believes the state’s accountability system is unfair to the students.
“It’s judging them by a letter grade,” Sias said.
He also expressed concern that a state takeover could result in the school becoming a charter campus.
“We don’t want the state taking over our schools because all they’re going to do is give it out to a charter school, and that’s the trend in Louisiana,” he said.
During the meeting, Angela Cassimere, the district’s director of curriculum, assessment and accountability, explained that if a school is transferred to the Recovery School District, the state superintendent works with RSD leadership to develop a transformation plan tailored to the needs of students and families. Schools eligible for transfer may be operated as a direct-run RSD school, a charter school, a university partnership or through an agreement with an education management organization.
Some board members said merging the schools may be the best option to maintain local control.
“These are our options. We do not want the state to take over this school. We have great teachers at Opelousas Junior High, and Opelousas High School is a C school,” said Renee Aymond, a school board member representing District 6.
Teachers are also closely watching the situation. Noah Smith, a teacher at Opelousas Junior High, said his primary concern is his students.
“I’m more concerned about what my kids are going to experience, where they are going to go and knowing that they are in safe hands. I just hope that I can still be a part of those safe hands,” Smith said.
Batiste said he is already working on a potential merger plan, including securing an annex building and developing academic opportunities for incoming seventh- and eighth-grade students.
According to the state’s letter, the merger would take effect for the 2026-27 school year. If approved, approximately 869 students from Opelousas Junior High would move to Opelousas Senior High. As of now the high school currently has 634 students.
The board is expected to take a final vote on the merger March 5. The district has until March 11 to submit its formal plan to the state on how the merger will take effect.
Four-day school week also discussed
In addition to the merger, board members also discussed the possibility of moving to a four-day school week.
The item was introduced by Tiffany Nolan, who represents District 11, after she said she received calls from community and board members asking about a potential schedule change.
Board member Robert Gautreaux, representing District 7, suggested the district conduct a public survey to gather input from parents, staff and the broader community.
Kyle Boss, who also represents District 8, said he has heard from parents who are not in favor of a four-day week, citing concerns about increased childcare costs and the potential loss of a day for tutoring and academic support.
Despite some opposition, Willie Singleton with the St. Landry Federation of Teachers said she supports the idea, saying it could help improve teacher retention and recruitment.
“A main reason for a four-day work week would be to retain schoolteachers and attract quality schoolteachers to the parish,” Singleton said.
She added that the schedule could also help address teacher workload, burnout and student attendance.
Aymond also proposed an alternative schedule, suggesting the school day be extended by 30 minutes with students off every other Monday under a 40-15 calendar model. The plan would provide additional breaks throughout the year while reducing summer learning loss.
The board voted to continue discussions on the four-day school week and did not move the proposal forward for a full board vote.
