Local group opposes closure of Paul Breaux Middle School, relocation of programs
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- A local civic group has come out in opposition to the rumored closure of Paul Breaux Middle School in Lafayette, and the proposed relocation of the Academically Gifted and French and Spanish Immersion programs from the school.
The proposals to move the programs will be discussed at the Lafayette Parish School Board meeting on Wednesday, according to the board's agenda.
Alton Trahan, president of 100 Black Men of Greater Lafayette, said his organization "opposes any actions to diminish the current status and use of the school."
"It is our request that the Lafayette Parish School System and its Board table the consideration to close Paul Breaux Middle School and removal of the Gifted and French Immersion Programs," Trahan said, in an open letter to school board members. "It is unconscionable to imagine LPSS would move to shutter the PBMS campus as it represents the last vestige of Lafayette’s only school built to serve African Americans prior to desegregation."
While the closure of the school has not been discussed publicly by the board, Trahan has said that LPSS Superintendent Francis Touchet told him in a meeting that the proposal is to move the gifted and immersion programs as a precursor to closing the school and turning it into a warehouse.
Read the entire letter here: