Board approves $240,000 for South Beauregard athletic upgrades and $310,000 for DeRidder chiller

The Beauregard Parish School Board voted in committee Sept. 8 to allocate remaining 2023 bond funds to multiple school facility needs, including a $240,000 allocation for additional improvements at the South Beauregard High School Athletic Complex and a separate approval to spend $310,000 to install a backup chiller at DeRidder High School.

Facilities staff described the chiller decision as a redundancy measure to protect roughly 700 students and avoid future shutdowns; adding a second chiller would alternate the load and extend equipment life. Facilities staff explained prior failures had forced emergency rentals and school closures, and said two properly functioning chillers would reduce that risk.

For the athletic-complex work, facilities recommended a package of items (lighting, bus cameras, covered outdoor dining at East Bullard, parking and track resurfacing) and projected that if the board approved the listed items the district would retain about $1.5 million of remaining 2023 bond proceeds for other uses. Board members asked about equity and non-athletic needs before approving the athletic-complex allocation.

Both motions passed by voice vote in committee; the committee reported approval back to the meeting. Where roll-call tallies were not recorded in the committee transcript, the votes were announced as "Aye" and declared passed.