Caddo Parish staff recommend closing Queensborough, other schools; seek appraisal and sale of Norris Ferry property

The Caddo Parish School Board's executive committee discussed recommendations from its building and grounds committee on April 1, including a staff plan to close Queensborough Elementary at the end of the 2024'025 school year and to prepare the former school for sale, with proceeds dedicated to future construction of instructional facilities.

The committee also recommended plans to close Blanchard Elementary at the end of the 2025'026 school year and consolidate its students into Donnie Bickham Middle School, which the district would convert to a pre-K through 8 campus beginning in fall 2026. Staff recommended closing 80 First Street ECE at the end of the 2025'026 school year and assigning those students to Atkins Elementary. The recommendations were presented to the full board as agenda items for the board's April 15 meeting.

Why it matters: the district says consolidations would reduce operating costs while allowing some schools to offer expanded services; the draft estimate discussed in the meeting placed recurring savings from the consolidations roughly between $750,000 and $1 million per year.

Staff and committee members described outreach and operational steps. Mr. Greer, a district staff member, said staff visited Queensborough, met with the principal and faculty and plans an "easy transfer process" for students to J. S. Clark Academy. "We visited 1 on 1 with the principal and then participated in, a really good conversation with faculty," Greer said. He added that the district plans to add sixth grade at J. S. Clark next year so siblings and cohorts can stay together.

Human-resources details: Miss Stanford, a district HR staff member, told the committee that "all of our fully certified teachers will move into vacancies at J S Clark. Our intention is to always let our teachers follow the students." She said classified staff will be placed into district vacancies and that employees on temporary certificates would be handled individually; staff encouraged affected employees to attend a district job fair.

Numbers cited: committee members and staff said Queensborough currently enrolls about 222 students; J. S. Clark has a capacity of more than 1,000 and the combined school after consolidation is expected to be under 700 students, the district said during the discussion.

Property sale and process: the committee recommended securing an updated appraisal for the Norris Ferry property and advertising it for sale either by bid or listing at the appraised value, with proceeds placed in an account dedicated to future instructional-construction projects. Attorney Abrams—identified in the meeting as the district attorney—said staff would consult legal counsel about sale process details before final board action. Committee members reiterated that any sale must follow legal requirements and public-process rules and that no private arrangements have been made.

Public comment and concerns: resident John Glover spoke during the meeting's public-comment period, urging the board to publish a clear, written plan showing how students from Queensborough and J. S. Clark would be supported academically. "These children will meet regardless of what you've said to your staff," Glover said, adding concerns about both schools' academic performance and asking for a plan "in black and white".

Next steps and limits: the building and grounds committee forwarded its recommendations to the full board for consideration at the April 15 meeting. Committee members and staff emphasized that closures, property listings and any transfers remain contingent on board approval, applicable district policies and legal processes such as appraisal and public bidding.

Votes at the meeting: a motion to approve the proposed April 15 agenda and consent agenda that included the committee recommendations was moved and seconded during the session; the transcript records the motion and second but does not record a final roll-call tally for that motion in the provided excerpt.

Ending: district staff said they will continue outreach to families and staff and present implementation details to the full board; any final decisions about closures, sales or school-name changes will require separate board action and compliance with district policy and law.