School Board approves new generator for technology building

By: ELIZABETH
WEST
Managing Editor

At Wednesday night’s Evangeline Parish School Board meeting, discussions centered mostly around purchasing a larger generator for the school districts new technology building.
The plans for the building were previously accepted by the school board and called for a 20 kilowatt generator.
However, during the meeting, Superintended of Schools Darwan Lazard shared that the company constructing the building informed him that a larger generator would be needed to be able to keep the internet servers up and running if the power were to go out.
According to the superintendent the first generator that was approved was more like a home generator, which “powers things up in phases.”
Lazard said, “In order for our internet and servers to operate, they have to come on instantaneously.”
The board unanimously approved the purchase of the larger generator, which will cost $13,748.20 more than the generator originally approved for the building.
The new technology building is set to be finished sometime around the end of July or beginning of August.
During the meeting, Lazard also took a moment to congratulate a few of his district’s schools for being recognized on the national level.
Lazard said, “I would like to congratulate Ville Platte High School, Pine Prairie High and Basil High for being recognized by the National Beta Organization as a National School of Merit.”
These schools earned this recognition for have BETA and Jr. BETA organizations on its campuses.
Other items approved at the meeting were:
• Change of official journal from the Ville Platte Gazette to the Basile Weekly effective July 1. 2017.