[StBernard] EDITORIAL: Showing the way

[Westley Annis]

EDITORIAL: Showing the way
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Most local officials have found it frustrating to navigate state and federal
bureaucracies as our region recovers from Hurricane Katrina. But a few
entities have become examples when it comes to taking the initiative and
thinking outside the box, and the St. Bernard Parish school system continues
to be one of those. 

The system received national recognition when it reopened as a unified
school at Chalmette High School less than three months after Katrina -- just
as the Orleans Parish School Board was declaring that it had no plans to
open any east bank campuses that school year. 

Now St. Bernard Superintendent Doris Voitier is spearheading another effort
that shows how to get over FEMA's hurdles. Her school system is launching a
$50 million expansion of Chalmette High School to add 25 classrooms, an
athletic field house and a 400-seat auditorium, among other facilities. 

Using creative financing, the system renovated a flooded school to serve as
its maintenance facility. The system also chose not to repair other
buildings to free millions in FEMA money. Those funds, combined with
insurance payoffs and private financing, will be used for the high school
expansion. 

The project has a purpose other than to add bricks and mortar. The extra
classrooms will let the system reduce class sizes and give students more
one-on-one attention, especially ninth-graders. Ms. Voitier said students
who make it past ninth grade have dramatically less risk of dropping out. 

Likewise, entities with creative and decisive leaders -- such as Ms. Voitier
-- have fared dramatically better in our recovery.