Louisiana Senate approves constitutional amendment, implementing bill to create St. George Community School System

A constitutional amendment to create the St. George Community School System in East Baton Rouge Parish and a companion implementing bill cleared the Louisiana State Senate after debate about potential costs to the existing parish school system.

Senator Edmonds moved final passage of the constitutional amendment, saying the measure "will be voted on statewide and also will be voted on in the parish," and described the proposal as the culmination of more than a decade of local work to form a city and school district. "For some of my parents and families, this is a local bill. It's one of those bills that's, once in a lifetime," he said.

The proposal drew a formal objection from Senator Barrow, who said he opposed the bill because of fiscal uncertainty. "There is going to be a cost to the East Baton Rouge school system," Barrow said, citing a figure that…