Parents speak out about capacity issues at PPHS and BCE

Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine called for a community meeting last Monday night for the Ville Platte parents who’s children attend Pine Prairie High School and Bayou Chicot Elementary.
The main topic of the meeting was the capacity issues that Pine Prairie High and Bayou Chicot Elementary are currently facing, and how these issues may be addressed.
Also present at the meeting were Evangeline Parish School Board Members Georgiana Wilson, Nancy Hamlin, Wayne Dardeau, and Ellis Guillory, as well as superintendent Toni Hamlin and assistant superintendent Darwin Lazard to answer any questions that parents may have.
In 2004 Evangeline Parish Schools experienced re-organization, which resulted in a section of Ville Platte becoming zoned for Pine Prairie High and Bayou Chicot Elementary. This section of Ville Plate became known as the sub-zone for the Pine Prairie and Bayou Chicot schools.
The superintendent said, “I can remember when re-organization was happening parents were asking me, will our kids ever be able to come back to Ville Platte. Everything has come full circle and you may get to return to the Ville Platte schools.”
Today, 12-years after the re-organization, or consolidation, PPHS is over capacity by 80 students in grades nine-12, while BCE is over capacity by 52 students in grades fifth-eighth by the district’s standards.
The superintendent defined “capacity” as “the ideal number of students assigned to a classroom.”
The district strives to fill classrooms in grades K-third with 21 students maximum to one teacher, and 26 students maximum to one teacher in grades fourth-12. The state’s standards however are set at a maximum of 26 students to one teacher in grades K-third, and 33 students maximum in grades fourth-12.
To address this problem, the board has considered re-drawing the lines so that the students living in the sub-zone that currently attending PPHS and BCE would now be zoned for the Ville Platte schools, which are all under capacity by state and district standards.
The board is also considering having limited open enrollment. This means that if a student would like to attend a school other than the one they are zoned to attend, they will have the opportunity to apply to the school of their choice and enter a lottery drawing.
The idea of having these Ville Platte residents begin attending the Ville Platte schools has left many parents residing in the sub-zone upset.
Board member Ellis Guillory, at the meeting asked, “Is this going to then cause the Ville Platte schools to be over capacity?”
The superintendent informed Guillory that VPHS and its feeder school Ville Platte Elementary would not be over capacity if the sub-zone became a part of the Ville Platte school district.
For individuals like Arthur Sampson, he feels that this is a race issue.
“The board president is a racist, and he doesn’t want our kids at Pine Prairie,” said Sampson. “13 board members let Ville Platte High’s building almost fall down. Who’s to say they won’t do that again?”
Sampson went even further by stating, “They are going to treat us like slaves again like in the 1850s.”
For Michael Nelson, his concern is less about the issue of race and more about the friends his daughter has made at BCE that she would now be forced to leave behind.
Nelson asked the superintendent, “All the way up to the eighth grade my daughter has been with the same class, and now she will have to leave her friends?”
Unfortunately if the lines are re-drawn Nelson’s daughter would no longer be able to attend PPHS after she graduated from the eighth grade at BCE this year.
However, if a high school student from the sub-zone is already attending PPHS then they would be allowed to graduate from PPHS.
As far as other ways to fix the capacity problem at PPHS and BCE, Rufus Searile said, “We should leave the black kids at Pine Prairie, and send the little white kids over here. Lets see how they like that.”
A decision on wether or not the sub-zone will return to Ville Platte schools will be made Wednesday night at the school board’s monthly meeting, and Mayor Vidrine asked that everyone who will be affected by this to please attend.
Vidrine said, “The school board should not try to fix their problems on the backs of our children. Our kids have learned to love Pine Prairie and Bayou Chicot, and they don’t want to leave, so if you want to share how you feel about this situation be sure to attend the school board meeting on March 16 at 6:00 p.m. at the Media Center. If you don’t speak up about this, then you can’t complain about the decision the board makes.”