Panel recommends site for new school

GONZALES — The Ascension Parish School Board’s Facilities Management Committee is recommending the board purchase a 12-acre tract in the Legacy Oaks subdivision as the most cost-effective site for a $16 million school to replace George Washington Carver Primary, board member Troy J. Gautreau Sr. reported at Tuesday’s board meeting

The Legacy site is between Cornerview and New River roads on the site of the former Gonzales Country Club golf course, and will have frontage on Cornerview Road

A cost-analysis comparing two proposed sites shows that the other option, known as the Diez property, would need wetland mitigation and significant site work to meet building standards, and would cost about $1.5 million more than the Legacy site

The purchase agreement, which is still being worked out, needs approval from the full board

In other business, the School Board learned that the Facilities Management Committee granted Sorrento Mayor Blake LeBlanc an extension until today to present a business plan to buy or lease the Sorrento Civic Center from the School Board

At a meeting last week, Sorrento’s town council failed to agree on plans for the center in a dispute over whether the town budget could bear the operational costs

The center sits on 16th Section land the board owns, and had been leasing to the parish, which allowed the facility to be rented for the Sorrento Boucherie Festival, the Sorrento Volunteer Fire Department’s annual trail ride and other community events. The School Board voted in January to terminate the lease and convert the center into a warehouse

The parish was set to vacate the building by April 7, but the board granted LeBlanc three weeks to work out an option that would allow the facility to be used for community events

LeBlanc said he will submit the plan to Superintendent Donald Songy before today’s deadline

In an unrelated issue, the School Board will be asked at a later meeting to vote on a Policy Committee recommendation to disallow charge accounts for school breakfasts for all grades, board member Catherine Davis reported. Charge accounts for lunches will be allowed only for pre-kindergarten to fifth grades, and will be limited to three lunches

Member Patricia Russo also reported the Child Nutrition Committee’s recommendation to raise the price of employee meals and second meals for students 25 cents, to $3.25 per meal. Don’t wait until it’s too late, find out more about Child Nutrition .

In March, the board approved a 25-cent increase in student lunch prices for next school year The move was necessary to help compensate for an annual deficit of more than $1 million in the Child Nutrition budget