Parents’ group satisfied with Moss Middle plan

• By PATRICK COURREGES
• Advocate Acadiana bureau
• Published: May 9, 2008 - Page: 1BA - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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LAFAYETTE — The leader of the N.P. Moss Middle School parents’ group said Thursday that she and her fellow parents are comfortable with the way the school system is handling repairs and reoccupation of the school.

Pamela Bowser, president of the Parents Helping Parents group, has expressed her approval since the students of the school were split between Good Hope Baptist Church and Northside High School.

Lafayette Parish School Superintendent Burnell Lemoine had announced Wednesday that the school would be partially reopened in the 2008-09 school year, with about 20 classrooms likely being used for the sixth and seventh grades.

The School Board had moved in late 2007 to close the school for the remainder of the school year to deal with water leaks in the walls of the school, which was built less than 10 years ago.

The students have been split between eighth-graders at Northside High School and sixth- and seventh-graders at Good Hope Baptist Church — where the system is paying more than $14,000 a month in rent.

Lemoine had said that Moss’ eighth-grade classes will remain at Northside High School, likely for the entirety of the next school year.

Parents had complained publicly when system officials originally announced the intent to close the school and relocate the students.

Among their claims was that the system had not made parents aware of the nature and severity of the potential problems at the school.

Bowser said the process of communication is being handled far better now.

She said that Lemoine met with parents before making the announcement of the plan for bringing students back and parents had the opportunity to look at a map of how students and ongoing construction would be worked around each other.

“The way they have it set up, the kids won’t be anywhere near the construction,” Bowser said.

She said that parents and system staffers have been meeting on monthly basis as contractors have assessed the damage and scope of needed repairs at the school.

Bowser said the architect the parents hired to double-check the school system’s work has reported that things are being done the right way.