EP School Board discusses state of technology building

Evangeline Parish Schools Assistant Superintendent Darwan Lazard addressed the district’s need for a new technology building at Wednesday night’s board meeting.
Lazard was requesting that the board grant them permission to begin consulting with architects on the options the district has when it comes to either repairing the existing facility or replacing it all together.
Some board members have already scoped out the building that Lazard described as “dangerous.”
The board’s president Wayne Dardeau said, “When I went look at the building I was shocked to see what kind of shape it is in. It’s hazardous.”
The portable building was moved to its current location at the school board office 16 years ago from another site according to Lazard, and it houses all of the technology information for the parish.
According to board member Lonnie Sonier, there was “no pad built for the building to be placed on and so water just sits under it, which is not good for the building.”
Board member Mike Fontenot suggested that the board look into moving a portable building from another campus if there are one in the district that are not being used.
This suggestion led to board member Peggy Forman informing the board that there are portable buildings on Hester Heath’s campus that have not been used in years. Forman said, “There are buildings at Hester Heath that have been locked up since consolidation. I am not sure of what their condition is now but we could look into that.”
The biggest issue however would be cost. Forman said, “It cost so much to move those buildings these days though, that we may be better off buying a new one,”
Which decision will be best for the district can’t be known until Lazard is able to discuss the options with an architect.
After the board granted Lazard permission to begin consulting with architects, Lazard said, “I will present all of the options we have to the board as soon as we are able to determine what those options are.”