School Must Bond or Close

Ville Platte High School might have to be closed if voters in Evangeline Parish School District Ward 1 fail to pass a $28.5 million bond issue on July 19, superintendent Toni Hamlin said at a public hearing this week.

If the school is closed, 400 students would have to be bused to other schools in the parish, according to Hamlin.

After voters rejected a similar proposal in October by 299 votes, the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal district judge to close the predominantly black school and order the school board to build a new one. A hearing on the case is set for a week after the July election.

The board’s plan would institute a property tax to support bonds to provide $20 million to build a new high school south of Ville Platte, $8 million to renovate the existing high school for use as a middle school, and $500,000 to upgrade an existing elementary school.

A proposed property tax for parish schools has failed at the polls five times since 1983. The district is asking for a property tax of approximately 25 mills.

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