'Listening sessions' to air deseg issues

As promised during its September meeting, the St. Martin School Board will hold a series of “listening sessions” to discuss the complex history of the school desegregation litigation and explain details of recent rulings from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court and Federal District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote.

The current focus of the ongoing legal action is the status of Catahoula Elementary School, which Judge Foote ordered closed last year. But the Catahoula issue could affect schools and students throughout the parish as one option under consideration is the creation of a magnet school at St. Martinville Primary with the hope of attracting more white students from other areas of the parish.

Superintendent Al Blanchard Jr. said attorneys who have represented the board since 2009, when the original desegregation settlement reached in 1974  was reactivated, will explain the current situation.

More details on the format of the sessions will be included in next week’s Teche News.

All sessions will begin at 6 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

•Thursday, Oct.13 – St. Martinville Sr. High Cafeteria.

•Tuesday, Oct. 18 – Catahoula Elementary Gym.

•Thursday, Oct. 27 – Breaux Bridge High School Cafeteria.

•Thursday, Nov. 3 – Parks Middle School Gym.

•Tuesday, Nov. 15 – Cecilia High School Gym.