Lafayette Parish School Rezoning Likely But Not This Year

Passions were high and questions were plentiful at a townhall-style meeting held last night in Youngsville. The meeting and information session was hosted by school board member Jeremy Hidalgo. The meeting was called to inform parents and answer questions about overcrowding and the possible rezoning of students in the Youngsville area.

One of the biggest queries of the evening had to do with the new Southside High School and its enrollment. The facility currently has an enrollment of 1200. That number could blossom to over 1500 students with the influx on next year's freshman class.

The recently constructed school has a capacity of only 1400 students. Many parents wanted to know how the school board managed to make such a gross miscalculation and what the miscalculation could mean for their children.

Since overcrowding appears to be a stark reality a good portion of the last night's discussion was also focused on solutions to the problem. One of those solutions could be the addition of portable classrooms. Another solution could be an addition to the newly constructed school. Still another possibility might be the rezoning of students to another school such as Comeaux High School.

The issue of Bulter Buildings at Southside High will be on Thursday night's school board agenda as well a discussion of attendance zones for the new Billeud Elementary School in Broussard. The board also hopes to finalize the school calendar for the district as well.