Terrebonne Parish School District Updates Going into the New School Year

The new school year brings a sense of hope with a chance to restart for Terrebonne Parish schools. Terrebonne Parish School District Superintendent Bubba Orgeron shared that things are definitely on track for the start of the new school year.

Temporary campuses at South Terrebonne High School and Ellender High Schools are on schedule to be ready for the August 9 start date. Orgeron said the main goal is to get teachers in the classrooms on August 1 to prepare for the new year. The campuses will be on time in terms of air conditioning, furnishings, technology, and cafeterias will be ready to serve children at breakfast and lunch times. 

Currently, South Terrebonne is one week ahead of schedule with furnishings already on campus and they are covering walkways with canopies covering walkways. Ellender’s furnishings were being delivered this week and will be in place by mid-week next week. Orgeron noted that all furnishings, including library books and athletic equipment, for the temporary campuses will also be utilized in the permanent structures once they are repaired and operational. 

Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on Terrebonne Parish school campuses. Orgeron said they recently decided that the South Terrebonne and Ellender campuses will be repaired and not demolished, “We’re looking at two to three years of repair at both sites,” he explained,” We really invested a lot in them so that we don’t lose any instructional opportunities for the kids.” The temporary campuses include science labs equipped with water and gas, kitchens for home economics classes, fully functional libraries, band rooms, choir rooms, and more that will welcome students back onto their campuses. 

Two other campuses that suffered extensive damage were Grand Caillou Elementary and Upper Little Caillou Elementary. Orgeron shared they have not decided yet on whether the campuses will be repaired or demolished. He said the decision will go before the school board and will be made very soon, “We’re not quite there, but in a month or so, we should be able to lay out the future for those schools,” he stated. If the answer is to demolish, he shared the next step would be to find locations for the schools’ relocations. It is these types of plans that need to be finalized before going forward because like everything in recovery efforts, it is a process. The schools will continue to utilize other campuses in the immediate future. Upper Little Caillou will continue to meet at East Houma and Grand Caillou Elementary will use the Legion Fields campus. Orgeron said both campuses are in excellent condition. Orgeron said moving forward, all plans will be public, and he encourages everyone to be a part of the conversations in regards to modifications and enhancements.

Hurricane Ida has also taken away fields and gyms in the parish schools. South Terrebonne High School’s turf field, which was also used by Ellender, had the most damage from the storm. It had shards of glass covering the field that were embedded into the rubber pellets. Not only were the lights destroyed, but the winds took the scoreboard off of the posts and was tossed outside of the field altogether. Orgeron reported that the rubber pellets have been replaced, the lights have been fixed, and a new scoreboard is expected to arrive any day now. Another minor fix is the goal post needing to be straightened out. All of the other football and soccer fields are in good shape.

Orgeron said Ellender and South Terrebonne gyms were completely destroyed during Hurricane Ida. Gym sharing is a must going into the new school year and plans are still being built. Ellender may go to Terrebonne and he said South Terrebonne may either go to Terrebonne or H.L. Bourgeois like the previous year. He said the district will also partner with recreation districts and middle school gyms to be able to accommodate practices. 

The baseball fields at South Terrebonne and Ellender are currently being worked on and Orgeron shared they will be ready for the upcoming school year. As far as the girl’s softball field for South Terrebonne, he shared they anticipate it being ready for this year and they are currently looking at a new site on campus grounds for the field. The Louis Miller Technical Campus has also accommodated Ellender with a field house that includes a weight room and coaching offices, “We’re also in the process of creating a practice field at the vocational school site right next to the field house,” Orgeron said.

He said another priority is to maintain safe campuses where parish schools will have more safety measures than before. They have recently invested in single-point entries, perimeter locks, and are looking to do more to maintain safer campuses. They are partnering with the Parish Government, Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office, and the Houma Police Department to have school resource officers at every campus. “It won’t happen immediately, but we’re looking to do this as quickly as we can. We’re very appreciative of the Parish Government and the sheriff’s office for working with us on this,” he said. Currently, school resource officers are on floating shifts meaning they are assigned certain schools that they split up times at assigned schools.

The school district has recently invested in four portable metal detectors so the high schools will have access to the machines if they are needed. The detectors will not be used every morning upon entry but rather during times of threats or any instances that they may be needed, “We feel good about that,” he shared.

He also clarified a rumor when it comes to lunch money being withheld if schools do not have bathrooms being shared by males and females. “What needs to be said is that we received no indication at all from any level that this is something we have to decide upon. Nothing from the state or Federal government saying anything about denying kids lunch or funding for lunch.,” he stated. Terrebonne Parish schools do have free lunch this year, but it has nothing to do with the controversial bathroom topic. The funding is part of an ongoing Child Nutrition Program that has been in place for decades. When it comes to decisions, Orgeron wants to make it clear that safety will always be a priority, “The safety of our kids will always be paramount to any decision we make. We’re going to keep the safety of kids on the forefront.”

Orgeron was the Assistant Superintendent before being chosen as the new Superintendent. His first school year in the position follows an unprecedented year and he looks forward to the process of not only getting back to normal but exceeding goals. “I want to do everything we can to expedite all of the recovery process. There’s so much involved, we have to be patient because we’re dealing with Federal guidelines, seeking bids, and everything it takes to get everything done” he explained, “ As eager as I am to get everything completed and ready, we have to always maintain patience through the process.”

“We’re always looking to continue the instructional process at a very high level,” Orgeron said, “Our teachers do a great job every day, day in and day out, and we’re looking forward to improving and growing our students academically so they can succeed beyond their time with us at Terrebonne Parish schools.”

Temporary Campuses