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Superintendent reviews winter planning, heating and water incidents and Ten Commandments guidance
Summary
Superintendent Eloy outlined winter-weather decision-making, described recent heating and water outages at several campuses, and said the board will monitor litigation and Attorney General guidance on Ten Commandments display requirements before taking action.
Superintendent Eloy told the Niagara School Board on Jan. 14 that the district is tracking incoming cold weather primarily through the National Weather Service in Shreveport and aims to wait until the last responsible moment before canceling school so families have maximum notice.
Eloy said district staff monitor multiple public weather sources but "we mainly rely on the National Weather Service out of Shreveport" and hold daily calls when significant events are forecast. He said officials weigh whether conditions put staff and students at risk, avoid cancelling for very small probabilities of precipitation and try to align decisions with neighboring districts.
The superintendent reviewed several facility incidents that affected operations last week. He said central office and principals received reports of room temperatures ranging from about 68 to 72 degrees and that two specialized sites — described as the bridal lab and e-lab — require coordination with Northwestern State University when campus systems fail. On one campus, Eloy said, district maintenance crews were dispatched but responded first to an earlier call at Magnet because that report came in first.
Eloy also recounted a water outage that left some schools without running water early in the morning; he said central office was first notified by cafeteria staff at about 6:30 a.m. and that water service was not restored until roughly 11:00 a.m. He said that lack of restroom access for several hours was a proximate reason to delay opening those buildings.
On a separate item involving religion and law, Eloy said he had spoken with the district's lawyer, identified as Mr. Geiss, and that legal developments and lawsuits around Ten Commandments display laws remain in flux. "The AG is telling us one thing," Eloy said, and he recommended the board monitor the litigation and Attorney General guidance this week and discuss a district position collectively at an upcoming meeting rather than act immediately.
Eloy closed his report by noting the district calendar and spring testing window remain unsettled because the Louisiana Department of Education has not posted its dates; he said the district expects to hold principal, staff and parent sessions and anticipates a March vote on the calendar once the testing window is final.
The board will elect a new president and vice president at the next meeting.
