Wave of floods could be over for Grand Caillou Elementary students

For years, flooding has been a problem for Grand Caillou Elementary. But those troubles could be eased following the approval of a recommendation that will allow officials to begin planning a new school in the area.

Terrebonne Parish School Board members gave the project a “thumbs up” last week by a vote of 5-3. A handful of Grand Caillou residents welcomed the decision with a bout of applause.

Board members who approved the measure were Hayes Badeaux, Donald Duplantis, Roger Dale DeHart, Gregory Harding and Dicky Jackson.

Those voting against were Clark Bonvillain, Rickie Pitre and Roosevelt Thomas.

L.P. Bordelon, a representative from the 6th District, was absent due to a family illness.

Before the vote, the administration was lauded for it’s hard work and urged to make the “right” decision.

“We couldn’t of asked for better,” said Marcell McGee, a resident of Grand Caillou. “We’re just asking you give our kids the same thing every other kid in the parish gets. And that’s an equal opportunity to get a quality education without the disruption of flooding.”

This go around, residents and officials hope the building will be less prone to high waters, something the current location has fallen victim to numerous times.

The school took on massive amounts of water during hurricane Ike in 2008, forcing students to be “shoehorned” into another school. “Imagine five feet of water standing in a school. I don’t mean a little. It’s five feet of water in a school,” explained Terrebonne Parish Superintendent Philip Martin.

“Not only was the flood a disruption, but trying to [merge] two schools into one was another,” he said. “I think it had some really negative impacts and consequences on educating the kids.”

However, the planning and approval process for constructing a new school can take up to 18 months. And the cost of the project is still up in the air.

“We’re just in the planning stages at this point,” said the superintendent. Although officials knew Grand Caillou needed to be replaced months ago, a lack in funding created a series of hurdles that couldn’t be jumped.

But the recent rededication of a portion of the parish’s sales tax helped moved things forward. Currently, one penny of every dollar spent in the parish is funneled back into the school system. A slice of that money now helps pay for construction activities, like those set to take place at Grand Caillou.

An overwhelming majority of Terrebonne residents voted to approve the rededication late last year.

As a result of the tax, the board was also able to secure a $10 million interest-free bond from the federal government; a portion of which Martin said will likely be used to erect the new building. Over a 15-year period, the bond will have to be paid back, but without interest, “…it will save taxpayers millions,” he added.

The superintendent said he is trying to obtain another bond similar in nature.

It’s also possible the district could receive funding from FEMA because of the nature of the problems at Grand Caillou.

“I think the general consensus is this is going to be a good first step,” said Lawrence DeHart, a local parent. “This whole process has been a public driven initiative, a parent driven initiative.”

Both DeHart and the superintendent claimed the project is just a hint at things to come. “Grand Caillou is not the only building project. It’s just the first,” said Martin.

According to DeHart, there are about three other projects on the waiting list.