Back to School for 4,000 Central Students

CENTRAL — More than 4,000 students arrived at Central’s five public schools Wednesday for the first day of class.

The opening of school came just as news broke that the Central Community School System is the only school system in the Baton Rouge area that will have a balanced operating budget for the current school year without the necessity of major budget cuts.

Central schools Supt. Mike Faulk said opening day went smoothly.

Faulk said he is expecting about 4,100 students to be on the rolls by the 2nd week in September.  He said he believes the growth in enrollment in Central schools has slowed in part because the system is cracking down on parents who attempt to enroll their students in Central schools without living in the school district.  Zachary has also toughened its policy.

Faulk said his office is requiring individuals who say they own a home to produce a property tax bill, homestead exemption certificate, voter registration card or drivers license, and an income tax return.  Lessees have to produce a copy of their lease and bills, a voter registration card or drivers license, and an income tax return showing the address claimed.  Otherwise, the parent will have to produce an affidavit swearing to the facts.  In that case, the parent will have to produce the required documents within a specified period.  There are criminal penalties for false swearing.

New students enrolled in Central schools this fall are mostly those who have moved here from nearby areas, although only a handful moved to Central from Baton Rouge.

Supt. Faulk said he has noticed far more students moving to Central from North Louisiana and out-of-state than in the past.  The exodus of Central Private School students to the Central Community School System has ended, he said.  Small numbers came from Northeast and Zachary.

The Central school system now has 420 faculty and staff.  Only one new position was created this year.  When a vacancy occurs, competition is intense, Faulk said.

“We have a very good pool of applicants,” he said.  “It’s a difficult decision for our principals, because of the high quality.  We are able to hire quality people.  Then we provide more training and resources, which add to the quality.  Good people get better,” he said.

Faulk said the biggest challenge for Central schools this year will be improve school performance scores.  Overall, Central is the No. 3-ranked public school system in the state.

“We have higher expectations,” Faulk said.  “We can’t be dissatisfied with our first four years of existence, but our question is, Are we doing the best we can do?”

“Our staff wants to do better,” he said. “If we look at our competitors, especially Zachary and West Feliciana (Nos. 1 and 2 respectively), they are doing a better job of challenging high achieving students.  It’s easy to forget about these students, because they do well and don’t cause problems.  But Zachary and West Feliciana do not forget about them.  We realize we must do more to challenge our top students.  One thing we want to do is develop better writers.  Our gifted and talented program begins in elementary school and continues through middle school and on to advanced placement.  But we must provide a higher level of services for these students.  There can be a gap between what we are offering and their abilities.  We want to narrow that gap,” he said.

Louisiana schools have a statewide goal of a 120 school performance score for every school by 2014.  How does Central stand in meeting that goal?

Faulk said scores from the spring are not yet in, but he expects Tanglewood to be close to the statewide goal now, with Central High in the 112 to 115 range.  He expects the intermediate school to be at about 105 and the middle school at around 100.

He said the influx of new students in the past four years posed a constant challenge for testing, because new students were not experienced in Central’s expectations.  When students know the expectations, they perform at a higher level, he said.

Construction of the new Central School Complex is slated for completion on March 14, 2012, he said.

Central Middle School and Central Intermediate School will move from their current locations to the new complex.  In addition, the 3rd grade will move from Tanglewood to the intermediate school at the complex. Some classes from Tanglewood and Central Intermediate will make field trips to visit the new school complex this spring.  When school closes in May, the move to the new campus will be accomplished rapidly, he said.

The new school complex will be occupied in time for the opening of school in August 2012, Faulk said.

The move of 3rd graders from Tanglewood to Central Intermediate is very critical to calculating Central’s school performance scores.  The 3rd grade is the first year for statewide testing, and the score of 3rd graders will be assigned to Central Intermediate but also to Bellingrath Hills Elementary and Tanglewood Elementary.

The lease on Starkey Academy, where the intermediate school is currently located, will expire in June 2012.

The Starkey Academy buildings and land belong to the Starkey Family, and they will decide what to do with the property.  Supt. Faulk said there are numerous possible uses for the campus, including a satellite campus of Baton Rouge Community College, a technical college, or a career center.  It could also be used as an office complex, he said.

Faulk said the renovations completed this summer at Central High School will make a big difference.  He cited improvements to the theater, band room, and choir room.

“The theater is very nice and could be used for community events,” he said.  He plans to ask the school board to adopt a policy on use of the facility.

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News