Saying that high schools in the Capital City have fallen behind in what they offer students, East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent LaMont Cole is pressing to spend $40 million to enhance “the high school experience.”
That “experience” includes student clubs, fine arts, career and technical education, as well as athletics.
“That is what I’m seeking to do, make our high schools more attractive, make the experience more attractive,” Cole explained last week.
Cole, who just completed his first year as local schools superintendent, first unveiled the proposal during a speech at the Baton Rouge Press Club. Later in the week, the parish School Board voted unanimously to begin the process of selling $40 million worth of bonds.
Assuming the State Bond Commission approves the sale when it meets Sept. 18, the board would give final approval in October, clearing the way for a bond sale in November.
“There would be no increased cost to the district,” Cole said.
The proposed new bonds would replace roughly $40 million in bonds sold in 2009 and 2010 that the school system is set to pay off in December. The school system has been budgeting about $3 million a year to pay off those bonds.
Those soon-to-be-retired bonds came with low or no-interest payments and were paid back over 15 years. They grew out of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the federal stimulus act. They were used to pay for 16 classroom additions, a new temporary classroom building, plus 182 school repair jobs such as repainting exterior walls and repaving parking lots.
The new bonds would carry an interest rate set by the market, topping out at no more than 6%. They would be paid back over a 20-year period. Cole said he is asking high schools to immediately start sending him their wish lists for things to improve their schools, and from that, he will develop a final project list.
Board members on Thursday were quick to make suggestions.
“Tara High desperately needs a new track,” offered board member Patrick Martin V.
Board member Carla Powell-Lewis said she visited Istrouma High earlier that day.
“They have half of a gym floor, superintendent,” she said.
The East Baton Rouge Parish school system operates 12 traditional high schools. They range from Northeast High in Pride, which has about 300 students, to Baton Rouge Magnet High, which has about 1,600 students. The district also operates three alternative high schools and a K-12 virtual school. Four charter schools authorized by the school system also have high school-age students.
Cole said that during his first year, he frequently heard complaints from high schools, particularly from students, that their schools fell short in what was available outside their core classes.
“What I've heard is their desire for school to be more than English, math, science and social studies,” Cole said.
Artificial turf is a sore spot. Once considered a luxury, artificial turf fields are increasingly the norm, but Baton Rouge high schools have failed to follow suit.
Cole offered other examples: stages without curtains, antiquated lighting systems in auditoriums, substandard science labs, old weight rooms and rundown press boxes.
Cole said that old band uniforms are another touchy subject. He noted that on Wednesday, he attended an event at Liberty High featuring a fine performance by the school’s marching band.
“The first thing the parents asked me when the cameras went off was, ‘When are you going to buy us some band uniforms?’” Cole recalled.
He noted that the lack of uniforms means that Baton Rouge high schools are unable to send bands to New Orleans to march in Mardi Gras parades, a high-profile activity that gives student musicians wider exposure and increases their chances of landing college scholarships.
Martin urged Cole to develop another, permanent solution that would allow schools “to buy new band uniforms more frequently than every 20 years.”
“I don’t generally like the idea of borrowing for a 20-year term to pay for band uniforms,” Martin said.
Cole said he sees the shortcomings of district high schools when he visits other high schools locally, as well as in other parts of Louisiana and in other states. Others similarly ask him why Baton Rouge can’t have the same kinds of things.
“The restaurants in Denham Springs, for instance, have restaurants in their (high school student) unions,” Cole recalled.
Similarly, board member Cliff Lewis said he recently visited Walker High and was “blown away” by the career training options offered there.
“If we’re going to change the trajectory of the children in our community, we’ve got to give them what they need to grow,” Lewis said.
Powell-Lewis said other local high schools have coffee shops and credit unions on campus. She also suggested that Cole use the $40 million to add other amenities to high schools that benefit the larger school community.
“Having washing machines, dryers, possibly even a food pantry, even a dentist office or a clinic in a school really comes in handy in our schools when we talk about those parts of our communities that come to school in survival mode,” she said.
Board member Nathan Rust said he supports Cole’s proposal in general but said he wants to see evidence before he says yes that the school system will still have enough money to fund a substantial employee pay raise next year.
“My only concern is putting too much of a burden on the district’s finances when we have some other checks to cash,” Rust said.