Committee approves ballot language for St. George school-system constitutional amendment after public concern over term “community”

The House Civil Law and Procedure Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 25 as amended, clearing ballot language for a constitutional amendment that would treat a St. George school system in East Baton Rouge Parish “as a parish” for school-operation purposes.

Supporters and opponents at the committee hearing urged precision in the wording on the ballot. Several parents and residents said the phrase “St. George Community School System” may create legal uncertainty if the district boundaries are coterminous with city limits and urged the committee to use “City of St. George School System” or “St. George Municipal School System.” Danielle Altavan told the committee the constitution already uses city or municipal terminology for coterminous districts and that voters deserve clear language. “The term community school system … might imply a different structure or a set of boundary definitions that may not be applicable here,” Altavan said.

Why this matters: The amendment would change Article VIII, Section 13(d)(1) of the Louisiana Constitution to allow the newly formed St. George district to exercise the authorities parishes have to operate a school system; that change must go to a statewide vote. Committee discussion focused only on ballot language under House rule 6.8(a), which requires simple, unbiased wording that lets voters identify what they are voting on.

Committee staff reminded members that the committee’s review is limited to ballot language: Allison Alonzo, the committee attorney, said the 6.8(a) review is to ensure the ballot language is “simple, unbiased, concise and easily understood,” and noted the proposed election date of April 18, 2026, with a fallback of Nov. 3, 2026, if another enabling measure does not pass.

Public commenters said the bill’s substantive provisions have been debated in other committees and that today’s hearing was limited to the ballot text. Several speakers emphasized that Central and Zachary used the term “community” because their school district boundaries extend beyond their city lines, whereas St. George has coterminous city and school lines and therefore, in previous constitutional references, has historically been called a municipal or city school system. Caitlin Joshua, a parent, told the committee, “When they put the community schools, that means that they can go beyond and incorporate East Baton Rouge.”

Committee action: The committee adopted the 6.8(a) report and amendments and then voted to report SB 25 as amended. Representative Shinnevar moved to report the bill favorably. The roll call recorded 11 yeas and 2 nays; the chair announced the amended bill was reported to the floor.

Background and next steps: Committee members and the bill’s sponsor described this as a local constitutional amendment following a multi-committee process (senate education, senate finance, house education, house appropriation). If voters approve the amendment, the newly constituted St. George school system would be authorized to exercise powers ordinarily granted to parishes for school operations; the companion statute that defines the district boundaries was discussed in other hearings and remains separate from the ballot-language review. If clear statutory boundaries are not enacted, commenters warned voters could approve vague authority without knowing which schools or boundaries would be included.

Ending: Committee debate remained limited to the ballot text. Several residents asked the sponsor and members to ensure the final ballot wording reflects that the proposed district would be coterminous with the city if that is intended, so voters would know whether they are approving a municipal/city school system or a broader community district.