Capital improvements are coming to school campuses in the parish

For the first time in nearly two decades, capital improvement projects are coming to school campuses across Evangeline Parish following approval from the parish school board at its meeting held Wednesday, May 5.
According to Superintendent Darwan Lazard, the previous round of capital improvements came in 2004 during consolidation. Back then, not all of the schools received benefits from the improvements and the board did not have a say in what work was done because the work was determined by the federal courts and the United States Justice Department.
This time around, the improvements will take place on every campus in this district and will be funded from a variety of local, state, and federal sources.
“It’s being done on a very equitable basis,” said Supt. Lazard. “It gives every school an allotment of money per student. Every student is valued the same throughout the parish. The only difference is the campuses that have more students will receive more funds.”
The superintendent went on to say, “I think this will demonstrate to the general public, our employees, and our students that we are concerned about the facilities that they have available.”
The following is a rundown of the funds going to each campus along with top priorities for each campus:
Basile High School- number of students, 482; minimum, $337,400.00; maximum, $385,600; construction of multi-function pavilion with “B.A” fan that will serve as a covered pavilion for physical education and an outdoor science classroom, add a climate-controlled storage room to little gym, and construct a softball complex possibly at W.W. Stewart.
Bayou Chicot- number of students, 683; minimum, $478,100.00; maximum, $546,400; air conditioning in the gym and overall gym renovation, raze and remove existing auditorium, and construct a new multipurpose cafeteria building to replace old auditorium building.
Chataignier Elementary- number of students, 347; minimum, $242,900.00; maximum, $277,600; window replacement in the main building, air conditioning, and painting hallways and classrooms, construct new permanent classroom building to replace existing portable buildings or replace with portable building, improve drainage, air conditioning in the gym, and pave the parking area and increase parking area for staff and visitors.
Mamou Elementary- number of students, 397; minimum, $277,900.00; maximum, $317,600; install canopy/covered loading/unloading areas for students and create driveway for cars and buses, install new windows for main building and gym building, and improve drainage issues.
Mamou High- number of students, 793; minimum, $555,100.00; maximum, $634,400; install air conditioning in the gym and renovate interior and exterior, replace gutter system on high school building, improve drainage, and upgrade L-shaped building including new windows and restrooms.
Pine Prairie High- number of students, 744; minimum, $520,800.00; maximum, $595,200; install rubber track at football field, add or renovate visitor’s side bleachers at the football field, and remove four portable buildings and replace them with art studio building and two additional classrooms.
W.W. Stewart- number of students, 322; minimum, $225,400.00; maximum, $257,600; construct outdoor pavilion with outdoor playground equipment, add “B.A.” fan, add designated pre-K play area, and add storage building.
Vidrine Elementary- number of students, 356; minimum, $249,200.00; maximum, $284,800; replace windows in elementary school building with like windows from the high school building, construct outdoor classroom pavilion structure with benches and other playground equipment towards one side of the pavilion.
Ville Platte High- number of students, 687; minimum, $480,900.00; maximum, $549,600; add new track for the track team, improve interior classroom walls in the main building, and renovate athletic fieldhouse under home-side stadium.
Ville Platte Elementary- number of students, 530; minimum, $371,400.00; maximum, $424,000; construct outdoor classroom: covered pavilion with picnic tables/benches in the place of the portable buildings that will be moved with “B.A.” fan and new outdoor restrooms, install cement/asphalt play area, and construct assembly area: auditorium or gym with seating.
Evangeline Central- number of students, 34; minimum, $23,800.00; maximum, $27,200; construct covered pavilion on the open slab above existing basketball court, construct, upgrade, or replace the walkways to and from covered pavilion, and install campus-wide fencing for security including access gates and possibly point-to-point cameras.
James Stephens- number of students, 396; minimum, $277,200.00; maximum, $316,800; renovate gym including three classrooms on the east side of gym and restrooms, improve drainage issues, and install playground equipment for all students.