By Courtney Freeman

The Heritage Society will hold a meeting at 5:30 in the Heritage building on Thursday, Aug. 14. Everyone is invited to join us and we are less than two months from the festival, so everything is coming together.

The Los Adaes Foundation will hold their monthly meeting in the Old Methodist Church at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. Everyone is invited as we plan and embark on the restoration of this historical marker of our community.

As I am writing this before the School board meeting on Tuesday, I will not know how the discussion goes beforehand. But I would like to share how I feel on the issue of reducing the board, from the point of it even being a suggestion.

I understand all things could change based on the cases involving Louisiana that will be heard by the Supreme Court, which could change the districts as they are now. I can understand Ms. Phelps position after what the board has had to do in the last two years. I can say I would never support a reduction without first seeing the proposed new districts.

Maybe that is what was intended, to get the demographer to draw up proposed new districts and vote then. But from the conversation last week it seemed the proposal was to reduce and then figure out the districts. My fear as a concerned citizen is for the rural districts.

I commend the school board because they invite involvement and dialogue. This honestly causes them to catch frustrations that aren’t caused by things in their control. The truth is many times the parish residents feel like their representation is controlled by the city of Natchitoches. This is no jab at the city. The point is Natchitoches has a capable mayor and council to represent them when the majority of the parish only has their school board members or Parish council members to be their voice.

There are small villages also but none hold the weight Natchitoches does and we all know that. Yet at least 5 seats of the school board are within the city limits and 3 council seats. Simply put, Natchitoches residents always have the majority in matters that dictate life outside in the parish.

Natchitoches is densely populated, so where will the politicians go for votes? Somewhere they can walk and door knock or down all our lovely parish roads. If the reduction affects the rural population it’s going to make people feel even more forgotten and disenfranchised. We’re always worried if our school will be next, or if our school is grouped with another that it won’t be the priority if another closure comes up.

Sabine Parish, with a similar student enrollment, has maintained their community schools. Many just don’t understand why they can and we can’t. Honestly my hope would be if the board does decide to go forward with the reduction of seats that they would choose to do it within the city. With the demographics they would probably be able to keep the balance very easily.

Also, with the schools being banded by grades there is no “your school, my school.” All Natchitoches children would go through one of the city schools at some point so the schools could be well represented by 3 members on the board instead of 5. And the large rural districts at some point begin to feel watered down. So I just ask that the council consider the effect of this decision for the rural
residents.