CATAHOULA PARISH, La. — The Catahoula Parish School Board has made a decision to close both Sicily Island and Central high schools.
This decision came at a special meeting on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Catahoula Parish School District, where Johnnie Adams is superintendent, is comprised of Block, Central, Harrisonburg and Sicily Island high schools and Jonesville Elementary School. The decision to close Central and Sicily Island schools takes effect at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. Both schools contain kindergarten through 12th grade students.
Students who currently attend Sicily Island will attend Harrisonburg schools and students who attend Central High School will attend schools in Jonesville.
District officials said the reason for closing the schools is because of the parish’s dwindling population and rising costs.
U.S. Census Bureau data shows the parish’s population declined by 14.4 percent — from 10,407 to 8,906 — from 2010 to 2020, the largest 10-year decline since 1950. As of 2023, the district had a total of 937 students enrolled with a projected decline over the next five to 10 years.
Central High School and Sicily Island High School have the lowest student population of all the district’s schools with 49 and 158 students enrolled respectively in 2023.
A full house attended the meeting on Thursday, including many parents and alumni of the schools with concerns.
Shirley Cooper, a concerned parent and alumnus of Sicily Island, said publicly at the school board meeting that parents were not given the opportunity to review the plan proposed by the Catahoula School Board to consolidate schools.
She also said some families rely on bus transportation and walk to the school to pick up their child when their child is sick — an option they wouldn’t have if the students were made to attend a school in Harrisonburg.
She said the proposal is “all about money” and not about the welfare of students and claimed that by transitioning students to other schools the district would lose money on transportation and building costs.
Not all feedback at the meeting was negative.
Felina McKay, a teacher at Central High School for 32 years, said CHS was a proud school — proud of maintaining A-B status throughout the years, proud of having operated for 76 years as a community hub and proud of the strong community support it has received.
“All of the things that make us proud also make us sad at the loss,” she said.
School board member Peggy Beard asked the board to consider tabling the proposal to allow stakeholders more time to have their questions answered. However, the school board voted in favor of the proposal by a narrow 5-4 vote.
In a statement, Adams acknowledged the emotional impact of the decision but emphasized the need for consolidation to improve educational opportunities.
“It’s unfortunate we’re at the point where consolidation is necessary, but it’s important that we look at this as an opportunity to better the education that we can provide to our students. I’m confident that the welcoming schools will welcome the students with open arms,” he said.
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