HARVEY — On April 5, the Jefferson Parish School Board approved an amended 2023 infrastructure and efficiency plan. The vote came at the conclusion of a public school board meeting.
An amendment was made to keep G.T. Woods Elementary open and not consolidate the school with Bissonet Plaza Elementary School and Tom Benson School.
The approved 2023 Infrastructure and Efficiency Plan will:
- Consolidate seven schools
- Relocate two schools
- Create one new PK-8 school
- Build two new campuses
Under the plan, seven schools will be consolidated and students will be absorbed into other schools:
- Grace King High School students will be absorbed into Bonnabel High School and Riverdale High School
- Gretna Middle School students will be absorbed into Marrero Middle School and Livaudais Middle School
- Helen Cox High School students will be absorbed into John Ehret High School, LW Higgins High School, and West Jefferson High School
- Joshua Butler Elementary students will be absorbed into Judge Lionel Collins Elementary, Isaac Joseph Elementary, and Truman School
- Mildred Harris Elementary students will be absorbed into Cherbonnier Elementary and Emmett Gilbert Elementary
- Washington Elementary students will be absorbed into Bunche Elementary
- St. Ville Elementary students will be absorbed into Woodmere Elementary while a
new school is being built at the current St. Ville site. Once the new school construction at St. Ville’s current site is completed, a new St. Ville Elementary will open. At that time, school lines will be redrawn to include the St. Ville Elementary, Woodmere Elementary, Shirley Johnson Gretna Park Elementary, and George Cox Elementary campuses.
Two schools will relocate their campuses and students:
- Haynes Academy will relocate to the Grace King High School site
- Thomas Jefferson Academy will relocate to the Gretna Middle School site One school will expand to a PK-8 school:
- C.T. Janet Elementary (currently PK-5)
The plan will go into effect for the 2023-2024 school year. The plan, communications, and answers to Frequently Asked Questions can be viewed at jpschools.org/2023Plan.
The plan and attendance zone changes impact around 13% of the district’s nearly 47,000 students. Jefferson Parish Schools will send impacted families placement letters with their assigned school once school attendance zone maps are available.
Certificated employees with a satisfactory evaluation working at a consolidated school will maintain their employment, salary, and benefits. The district will visit schools to meet face-to-face with employees impacted by these changes and get their input on where they would like to work next school year.
Meyers Engineering/MGT Consulting presented the 2023 Infrastructure and Efficiency Plan to the Jefferson Parish School Board on March 27, 2023. The plan Meyers Engineering/MGT Consulting presented was the result of feedback from the MGT Town Hall meetings held in March, dozens of community meetings, feedback from various stakeholders, and research by the district and independent education consultants. It also puts into action many of the recommendations made by the Hill Group in their 2018 Jefferson Parish Schools Educational Facility Master Plan study.
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