Concerns voiced for new campus

Public meets with Jennings school board members

Concerns about emergency response times, infrastructure and traffic in connection with a new elementary school were posed to Jennings school board members at a Thursday night meeting.

Members representing Ward II, including Phillip Arceneaux, Denise Perry, Jimmy Segura and Don Dees, hosted the meeting at First Baptist Church Family Life Center along with Kirk Credeur, superintendent of parish schools. Board members David Capdeville and David Doise were not present.

This month city voters will head to polls to decide on extending a half-cent sales tax for 14 years and a 13-mill property tax that will fund bonds to be paid off within 20 years, starting in 2023. The proposals will be listed separately on ballots. These are not new or increased taxes. If approved, revenue generated from the taxes would be dedicated to constructing a pre-K through sixth grade school.

Thursday’s meeting at First Baptist Church Family Life Center was a question-and-answer session that gave voters the opportunity to speak with

.

One concern shared involves emergency response times. The school board is pursuing 20 acres of land on South Lake Arthur Avenue/La. 26, a few miles south of the railroad tracks. Some constituents are worried the school’s location would hinder police and fire agencies from responding quickly if a train is passing through the city.

Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes said Credeur has offered city police to utilize space in the new school for a substation. Semmes said he could designate patrolmen to certain areas of the city to ensure someone is near the school at all times. In addition to this, he said, his department has determined it would take 12 minutes for officers to get to the school if all those on duty are working north of the railroad when a train is stalled. Average response to the potential school site, depending on the location of officers, is about three minutes.

Bobby Vasseur, Jennings Fire Department’s interim chief, said firefighters see these same response times. However, he said, his department already has a second station on South Lake Arthur Avenue near the proposed school site.

“We have 100 percent faith that our forces will provide quick service and the district is willing to work with them to be sure that happens,” Credeur said. “I’m also confident the mayor will help us out with these plans as much as he can.”

Mayor Henry Guinn did not address that topic but did ask board members how the city and board could work together to address infrastructure. Building such a large facility at the proposed location would require a great increase in sewage and water needs. He said the city shouldering associated costs is unfair to taxpayers.

“Basically citizens would be taxed twice for this school because of the money it would take for infrastructure,” he said. “Is the city going to have to go to taxpayers and ask for more money for infrastructure? Does the school board intend to pay for any of this?”

Segura said the board is currently researching the legality of using dedicated tax dollars on infrastructure.

However, Segura added, when Jennings High was constructed in the early 2000s, the city paid for the installation of a new road adjacent to the campus. Guinn said that plan had been formulated with city leaders ahead of time.

Segura said because construction on a school would likely not begin for at least three years, the city would have time to budget for any necessary infrastructure costs.

Some in attendance asked how the board planned to address traffic on the two-lane highway that would border the campus. Credeur said a request has been made to the Department of Transportation and Development to determine how traffic flow would be affected, and what would be required to combat any issues.

Jennings Councilman Clifton LeJeune asked what plans were for the Jennings Elementary campus on Florence Street if a new campus is built. He asked if the board would sell that land.

Segura said the site would be repurposed, sold or demolished. Legally, he said, a public entity cannot give away public property. However, it could utilize lease or mutual agreements. A decision has not been made on complete plans for what would take place at that campus or James Ward.

Farmer Dwight Hollier owns land next to the potential school site on South Lake Arthur Avenue. He said he is not opposed to supporting tax extensions or a new school but is opposed to the location. He believes there is enough room to construct the school at the Jennings Elementary site.

Hollier added that he is pursuing a hog farm operation on his land. He utilizes an airstrip there for farming activity, as well as and propane guns day and night in nearby crawfish fields. He also runs a dove hunting business in season on land near the 20 acres. Hollier said this noise and activity would not cease with a school in the area.

Segura said schools in Lake Arthur, Fenton, Elton and Hathaway are all located near farms but agricultural activity has not negatively affected campuses.

The pre-K through sixth grade campus would be built to accommodate at least 1,200 students. There are approximately 1,100 students between Jennings Elementary and James Ward. Dr. Jeff Cook, pastor at First Baptist Church, suggested a demographic study be performed for projected growth within the city. He said initially leaving room for 100 extra students might require second thought.

“I came to Jennings with my family from the Lafayette Parish school system, a system that’s broken and crowded,” he said. “More and more people are buying and building their homes in smaller areas but working in places like Lafayette and Lake Charles. And if you build a new school, people move to the area. It’s what happens.”

During Thursday’s meeting, a video presentation was given that highlighted certain issues on the city’s elementary campuses. Some of the more pressing matters included security concerns due to campus layouts, lack of building efficiency, traffic congestion on Shankland Avenue in front of James Ward and lack of air conditioning at the Jennings Elementary gym. Also, said James Ward Principal Tanya Gaudet, Jennings Elementary still utilizes a boiler room. That room has to be checked throughout the day to ensure proper pressure is maintained and pilot lights remain lit.

Early voting for the tax extensions runs March 16-23. Election Day is March 30.