Start of Terrebonne Parish Schools postponed until September 8

The start of the 2020-2021 school year for Terrebonne Parish Schools has been postponed until September 8, school board member Clyde Hamner confirmed with the Times this afternoon.

An automated call was also placed to all Terrebonne Parish School District parents.

Students were previously going to report to schools as early as August 5.

Hamner shared with the Times that Superintendent Philip Martin had reached out to each board member, and that to his knowledge, all nine members agreed to push the start of school back approximately one month.

“I think it’s a good move, a good idea, to not have students coming back during one of the hottest months on record, and wearing masks,” shared Hamner. “It’s the right thing to do and it will be a better atmosphere for students.”

Hamner shared that school used to start after Labor Day until it was decided students needed extra days of school before testing began. “Getting those extra days in before testing is not as important as the health of our children.”

The extra days will likely be added on to the end of the school year, pushing the last day of school into June 2021, according to Hamner.

The automated call placed to parents cited the extreme amount of COVID-19 cases in Louisiana and Terrebonne Parish as the reason for postponing.

School board member Gregory Harding also posted the following to this Facebook page this afternoon: “If u had not heard Terrebonne school Board has stop all athletic activities. We have also push back the school starting date to September 8 2020 to give use some time to to see where this virus will be a few months from now.”

An official statement from Martin and the school board is expected on Thursday.

Earlier today, the Terrebonne Parish School District announced that it is placing all extracurricular activities, including athletics, band, color guard, dance and cheerleading, on hold until further notice.

Drew Miller contributed to this story.