BESE votes to transfer Baker Heights Elementary and Baker Middle to Recovery School District and assign Geo as operator amid community split

The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to transfer Baker Heights Elementary School and Baker Middle School from the City of Baker School District to the Recovery School District and to assign Geo Academies Louisiana as the proposed type 5 operator for those campuses.

LDOE staff presented academic and demographic data the department said justified the transfer. The department told the board Baker City Schools had a district performance score of 48.4 and an overall F rating; officials said Baker ranked last (69 of 69) among Louisiana school systems. Staff presented grade-by-grade proficiency comparisons showing Baker rates well below state averages in English language arts and math across grades 3–8 (examples cited in the presentation: third-grade ELA proficiency 20% in Baker versus 45% statewide; selected math proficiencies under 5% in some grades). Baker Heights Elementary was cited with an SPS (school performance score) of 34.3 and a four-year period of academically unacceptable status; Baker Middle was described with an SPS of 43.4 and a nine-year academically unacceptable history.

LDOE recommended transferring the two schools under the statutory category for chronically failing schools. The department also recommended assigning Geo Academies Louisiana, which had been approved earlier on the agenda as a type 5 operator, to the two Baker schools. LDOE staff compared the Baker campuses’ demographics (Baker Heights 98% minority, 95% economically disadvantaged; Baker Middle 95% minority, 94% economically disadvantaged) with Geo-operated campuses in Baton Rouge and presented that organization’s SPS scores (Geo Prep Academy 75.4; Geo Prep Mid City 78.3) as supporting evidence for Geo’s turnaround capacity.

Board members and staff noted the sensitivity of transferring schools from a small district and the likely financial impacts of moving a large share of students out of the district: several speakers and staff warned that transferring the two campuses would remove substantial funding from the local district and could put the remaining district at immediate financial risk. One staff speaker summarized a rough estimate that 500 students would represent roughly $3.8 million in state funding; that estimate was presented in the public discussion as a reason transfers could leave the remaining district budget insufficient to cover ongoing obligations.

Public comment at the hearing was extensive and sharply divided. Supporters of the transfer, including representatives from New Schools for Baton Rouge and advocates for turnaround interventions, argued that prolonged low performance — sometimes measured in multiple consecutive years of unacceptable status — warranted RSD action. Cara Maggiore of New Schools for Baton Rouge and other supporters said turnaround action had demonstrated results in comparable cases and framed the RSD as a last-resort tool to avoid another generation of students in failing seats.

Opponents, including Baker residents, the district superintendent (identified in the record as Mr. Stroder) and long-time educators such as Sandra Douglas, asked for more time and local support. Speakers raised several concerns: the transfer would effectively remove the bulk of the district’s funding and could bankrupt the district, families and workers would be disrupted, and comparisons between charters and traditional districts were not “apples to apples” given different admissions and accountability mechanisms. Linda Johnson, a long-time Baker resident, asked the board to delay a takeover for at least one year to allow local turnaround steps to take effect; others urged the board to support the newly hired superintendent and local recovery plans.

Board action: a motion to transfer the two Baker schools and assign Geo Academies Louisiana was moved by Mr. Morris and seconded by Miss Champagne; the motion was recorded as passing. One board member verbally stated an objection on the record (the transcript does not record a roll-call tally). LDOE staff and presenters noted next steps would include operational transition planning, and both state staff and local leaders acknowledged substantial financial and personnel issues that will require follow-up.

The transfer will require LDOE and RSD staff to work through operations, facility and budget impacts while the community seeks clarification on staffing and services for the remaining district.