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Vidalia resident Ruth Powers tells the school district that Vidalia Lower Elementary cannot cease to operate as a school after consolidation or the parish would lose the property that had been donated for that purpose. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Derrick Davis, a teacher and coach at Ferriday High School, said he is “neither for nor against” the proposal to restructure Concordia Parish schools but feels the local school district can do a better job of restructuring. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Concordia Parish community members line up at the mic to give their opinion on the Department of Justice’s proposed consent order to restructure parish schools. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Vidalia resident Jeff McClure stands at the mic to ask questions about the Department of Justice’s proposed consent order to restructure parish schools. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

The audience claps for officials’ response to the Department of Justice’s proposed consent order as the school board voted no. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

VIDALIA, La. — More than 500 Concordia Parish residents attended a public forum Tuesday in person to hear what the school board’s attorneys had to say about the U.S. Department of Justice’s consent order to restructure parish schools.

Thousands more watched one of multiple livestreams of the forum on social media.

Those who attended the forum in person had a couple of minutes each to give feedback on the proposal, which the school board voted down unanimously on Tuesday. The residents filled every minute of the allotted time with questions and comments.

The majority of residents and parents who spoke out against the proposal on Tuesday said their issue with it was not about race. Rather, they voiced concerns about disrupting the flow of community-based schools, increasing drive time and transportation costs, the social and emotional damage caused to students who have to switch schools, and the sense of pride they have in their current school system.

“I’ve worked in Ferriday and I work in Vidalia and there are great people all over this parish,” said Laci Cognivich. “We have Trojan pride, we have Viking pride and we have Wolf pride. But we’re proud, and that’s the thing we need to remember is to keep that pride, and we want to keep our pride in our own communities.”

Some residents stated they bought and renovated property in Vidalia just so that their children could attend Vidalia schools. Some went as far as to say they would leave the parish for another school system if the school board did pass the consent order.

Erica Carter expressed concern for children with special needs who would be displaced.

“I understand numbers. But at the same time, you would lose a whole lot of numbers if you decide to look at just numbers and not at the children themselves,” she said.

The consent order suggests consolidating kindergarten through 8th-grade schools by grade level and possibly closing or turning the Vidalia Lower Elementary school into a primary school and slightly adjusting the boundaries for Ferriday and Vidalia High Schools to move approximately 93 students — based on last school year’s enrollment — from Vidalia to Ferriday.

The proposal was received by the school board in the first week of December, board attorney John Blanchard said. Upon receiving the consent order, the school board made the decision to make it public at Tuesday’s forum and receive community feedback.

Ruth Powers, a Vidalia resident and retired teacher, asked “Should this thing pass, would Vidalia Lower remain a school?” If it does not, Powers said the building, which was donated to Concordia Parish School Board for use as an educational facility, would no longer be school district property.

“If it ever is closed as an educational institution, Concordia Parish School Board loses that property. That property was donated to the Concordia Parish School Board specifically to be used for the education of the children of Vidalia. There is a claw back, should it ever cease to be used for the education of children, it reverts to the heirs of the family.”

Some suggested that the federal government shouldn’t meddle with local school systems they are unfamiliar with.

Ronnie Blackwell, a former Natchez resident who moved to Vidalia 12 years ago, said the Natchez Adams School District is a product of forced integration.

“It’s predominantly Black. I’m not complaining — that’s just what it is. We’re talking numbers here. So, their balancing act didn’t work. I have failed in my lifetime to see the federal government do anything right. The federal DOJ is probably destroying more communities and school systems than it ever helped.”

Out of all the residents who voiced their opinion Tuesday, none said that they supported the consent order. A few speakers described failing grades and a struggling police force as their reasons for not wanting their children to attend Ferriday schools. One Ferriday resident, Brian Davis, said those speakers “should be ashamed.”

“Ferriday can offer just the same as everybody else,” he said. “It’s all about white and Black, and y’all should be ashamed of yourself. … My sons and my daughter are excellent students, and I’ll put them up against anybody.”

Derrick Davis, a teacher and coach at Ferriday High School, said “I’m neither for nor against” the proposal, but added that the school district “could do better.” He said residents shouldn’t fear change and that some change needs to happen.

“I believe we can dig deeper,” he said.

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Superintendent addresses negativity about proposed consent order to reorganize schools

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