Lafourche board OKs school repairs

The Lafourche Parish School Board hired contractors at last Wednesday’s board meeting to perform minor repairs at six parish school facilities.

“We have to put money into our schools to protect our students and faculty,” said board member Robert Naquin, chairman of the Land and Facilities Management Committee.

Among the projects unanimously approved are:

• Extra classroom space at Thibodaux Elementary School. Lamar Construction was hired for $7.5 million to do the work.

• Hurricane repairs at 10 Central Lafourche schools. B.E.T. Construction will complete the repairs for $554,350.

• Repairing a storm drain pump at Sixth Ward Middle School. M&L Engine Company LLC was hired at a cost of $44,621.

• Plumbing repairs at South Lafourche High’s marine ops building. Duplantis Design Group’s contract was amended to add work.

• A 14-classroom brick and block construction design for Cut Off Elementary. Cheramie & Bruce Architects was hired.

• Badeaux Engineers Inc. was hired to inspect the second floor structural steel beams and columns at Larose Elementary.

The school board also authorized board President Louis Thibodeaux to sign the needed documents to receive $186,760 in Community Development Block Disaster Recovery Grant funds.

“The process has taken so long because the school board had a number of conditions it had to meet before the money is authorized,” Naquin said.

According to school board grant writer Shannon Lafont, the funds will be used to reimburse the school system for the hurricane repairs made to South Lafourche High School after Hurricane Katrina.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not reimburse the school system for the repairs, which made Lafourche eligible to receive the CDBG funds, Lafont said.

An abstractor was also hired to trace title ownership of all Lafourche Parish School Board property.

“Over the years, people have given land to the school board and it has not been thoroughly cataloged,” Naquin said. “We just want to make sure that we have an accounted for all of our land.”