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Committee approves sending middle‑school feeder modification for Opelousas/Lawtell area to full board
Summary
A St. Landry Parish committee voted to send proposed middle‑school feeder‑pattern changes for Opelousas/Lawtell and Northwest to the full board; the tweak would shift a largely rural area and affects an illustrative count of about 16 middle‑school students, while high‑school boundary changes were deferred for later study.
The St. Landry Parish school board facilities committee voted to send a proposed change to the middle‑school feeder pattern for the Opelousas/Lawtell area to the full board after a lengthy presentation and debate about neighborhood boundaries, transportation and athletic eligibility.
Geographic planner Mike Kaffner said the staff map and geocode (based on 2024 data) showed the most immediate option would affect approximately 16 students in grades 6–8. "We're talking about largely a rural area right there...16 students in grades 6 through 8," Kaffner said, stressing the number was illustrative and not an exact count.
Board members debated whether changing middle‑school lines without also adjusting high‑school boundaries would break student cohorts and create duplicate transportation runs. Several members worried immediate high‑school realignment could jeopardize athletic eligibility for students currently enrolled at a different high school. One committee member urged phasing any high‑school boundary shifts, suggesting a future effective date. "If we do it for a date in the future... parents and families and those kids will have the best time to transition," a board member said.
After additional requests for precise maps and numbers, the committee voted to add a clearly worded middle‑school feeder modification item to the agenda and to send the middle‑school feeder changes for Opelousas and Northwest to the full board for final action. The motion was moved and seconded on the record and passed by voice vote; a single abstention was recorded.
Staff said they will circulate the detailed map and a five‑year enrollment/geocode spreadsheet to the board before the full‑board meeting so members can review exact street‑level impacts. The committee also agreed to defer any immediate high‑school boundary decisions and to bring high‑school alignment proposals back at a future committee meeting for study.
The committee’s action sends the middle‑school feeder proposal to the full St. Landry Parish School Board for consideration; the full board will receive the staff maps and data prior to voting.
