ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- Lafayette is not the only parish facing possible school closures and consolidations. The St. Landry Parish School Board held a meeting on Thursday to discuss just that.

The proposed ideas are to close Grand Coteau Elementary, close Washington Elementary, combine Opelousas Middle and Creswell Middle, close Eunice Elementary and Eunice Junior High, and combine North Central High and Port Barre High.

The superintendent said, however, nothing is set in stone.

"No decisions have been made. So that's the great thing. No decisions have been made. [It] is a lot of ideas and thoughts and, you know, possibilities. So you still have a lot of time to chime in and give your perspective," said Superintendent Milton Batiste III.

Batiste said the size of classrooms is what's guiding the change.

"I guess just overall, we're looking at declining enrollment trends like over the last decade or so. So just honestly in an attempt to drive academics, number one, and just be more fiscally responsible and actually put our students in a better space, our students and our teachers in a better space academically," he said.

While some parents spoke out against the proposed closures and consolidations, Batiste said they want to hear that.

"I don't look at it as pushback. I look at it as families and parents and community members advocating for their community schools, which is natural," Batiste said.

"But I think, you know, the more of these conversations that we can have, I think we can more understand collectively that, you know, we have to do something different and times change and they always do. That's just history," he continued.

Batiste said the school board has hired a demographer to help guide the proposals, but ultimately, the school board will make the final decision.

"I'm grateful for the people that came out and expressed their concerns. So I think that is positive as a part of a productive society when people are able to come in and have, you know, productive conversations. And I think everybody was respectful of one another's ideas. So I thought that was powerful just to see that," he said.

The superintendent said he hopes the school board can vote on the finalized proposals around February to prepare for the 2025 - 2026 school year.

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