Tangipahoa Parish Phase 2 school additions: Ponchatoula plan location debated; Champ Cooper awaits DOTD turn-lane decisions

Architects and district staff presented updates on Phase 2 classroom additions and related site work across Tangipahoa Parish, including Ponchatoula High, Champ Cooper Elementary, Loranger, Woodland Park and the Independence Leadership Academy.

Pierre, with Holly & Smith, said the program completion submittal for Ponchatoula High’s 18-classroom addition was submitted June 23 and that early test-fit sketches placed the addition on the west side of campus. After discussions with school administrators, staff reported a preference to relocate the addition to the east side or attach it as a wing to the existing building to preserve bus routes, teacher parking and to work with an upcoming roundabout on Ridgeline Road.

Staff said drainage and site constraints on the original wooded site informed the relocation discussion, and the committee discussed trade-offs including tree removal, parking reconfiguration and travel/traffic flow. Pierre noted the conceptual plan includes 18 classrooms plus a cafeteria (designed to serve part of the student population) and two science labs in some program variants; staff and board members discussed whether principals’ requests for additional labs should be accommodated now or deferred to later phases because of budget constraints.

Committee members reiterated a preference to proceed with the Phase 2 program approved previously while designing to allow future add-ons. Staff noted the court-approved budget for one large Phase 2 project was $12,300,000, while the team’s updated cost opinion was about $17,000,000 and that inflation and changing construction costs could require returning to the court for budget adjustments.

Champ Cooper’s addition has not yet had a kickoff meeting; staff said the project was held while the district secured DOTD (Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development) approvals for new turn lanes and a carpool line. One presenter said DOTD agreed to pay for the turn lanes, clearing a key uncertainty so the district can proceed with feasibility and site planning.

Logan Pittman of Greenleaf Architects said the Independence Leadership Academy programming for an eight-classroom addition was submitted; schematic designs are expected by September and the project’s preliminary area is about 11,600 square feet. Gene Elazar (Alvin Fairburn & Associates) and Chris Banks (Banks & Architects) presented schematic locations and early floor plans for Chesebro, Loranger and Woodland Park additions; Woodland Park is already in construction with slab and blocks placed and a projected September completion for its current scope.

The board asked for an explicit timeline from schematic design to bid documents; architects estimated schematic development followed by design development and construction documents — roughly six to nine months from schematic completion to bid documents depending on site issues. Staff emphasized that some Phase 2 projects were designed years earlier and may need program adjustments to reflect current enrollment and cost conditions.

Next steps: staff will return to the board with schematic drawings and, if necessary, requests for budget adjustments tied to updated cost opinions and site constraints. The board asked district staff and architects to design Phase 2 buildings to allow future expansion where feasible and to bring back clear recommendations before changing the originally negotiated Phase 2 program.