The Future of Education in St. George

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, St. George Leader – Baton Rouge

One of the  primary reasons for starting the City of St. George was to lay the foundation for the creation of an independent school district for the southeast part of the parish.

In fact, when then-Sen. Bodi White began discussing the need for a new school district in the 2010’s, other legislators told him in no uncertain terms that St. George would have to go through the process of incorporating a city first.

Now that the City of St. George exists and is beginning to function, attention will naturally turn to education and especially to the need for an independent school district.

Chris Rials, one of the two incorporators of St. George (the other being Norman Browning), said public education will play a major role in the future of St. George.

At present, Rials estimates that about 5,000 St. George residents attend public schools in East Baton Rouge Parish.  Since St. George has a population of 87,000, that is an extraordinarily low number.  Only one in 17 residents attends public school!

By comparison, Central has a population of 30,000.  More than 5,000 are enrolled in public schools.  That is one in six residents! 

If St. George has its own school district, the potential for growth in enrollment will be enormous.

Across Bayou Manchac, public school enrollment has exploded. In fact, four of the largest high schools in Louisiana are in East Ascension:

•Dutchtown High, 2,643

•St. Amant High, 2,411

•East Ascension High, 2,098

•Prairieville High, which is expected to have 1,000 to 1,400 students this fall in its first year.

The population of Ascension Parish has skyrocketed, largely because of safe neighborhoods and good public schools.

It has grown from 76,627 in 2000 to 126,500 in 2020.

The map on Pages 10-11 of this edition of the St. George Leader indicates the location of public and private high schools in St. George.

It is difficult to believe, but there is only one public high school in St. George — Woodlawn High — for a population of 87,000.

There is also a shortage of private high schools.

Only three private high schools are located in St. George — Family Christian, Dunham, and St. Michael.  Nearby are two others — Parkview Baptist and Episcopal.

Chris Rials hopes the City of St. George will have its own independent school district which coincides with the city limits of St. George.

That is a very significant and telling point.   Controversies have arisen in both the Central School System and the Zachary School System. Parts of those school districts fall outside the boundaries of the cities of Central and Zachary.

In areas inside the Central school district but outside the City of Central, planning and zoning decisions are made by the East Baton Rouge Parish Planning Commission and the Zoning Commission.  

Likewise, in areas inside the Zachary school district but outside the City of Zachary, planning and zoning decisions are likewise made by EBR Parish, not Zachary. 

The East Baton Rouge Planning Commission seems to relish putting large, controversial developments where Central and Zachary officials can’t touch them.

Always remember that a school system without a solid planning and zoning commission is a school system that can be destroyed almost overnight.

Who will build the new public high schools that St. George desperately needs?  Well, it certainly won’t be the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.  They are biding their time, waiting for St. George to create its own school system.

If new public schools are built in St. George, it will have to be by  the  St. George Community School System, which of course doesn’t exist yet!

Chris Rials said the founders of the City of St. George have their hands full, trying to make the new city successful.  Rials said a new generation of energetic and youthful new leaders have to emerge and take the initiative in forming a new community school system.

That is no small task, as all of us who have been involved in creating new school districts can attest.

So young dad, young mom,  what are you waiting for? Let’s see what you can do!