Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

VIDALIA, La. — During Thursday’s school board meeting, Concordia Parish School’s Superintendent Toyua Bachus answered negative feedback about a proposed consent order handed down from the U.S. District Court to redraw school boundary lines.

The school board announced the proposal while announcing a public forum scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, at the Vidalia Convention Center, where stakeholders may give their feedback on the consent order, which aims to end an ongoing desegregation lawsuit against the parish.

The proposal indicates that beginning with the 2025-26 school year, Ferriday, Vidalia and Monterey high school boundaries would be modified, sending some students to different schools.

Click here to view a map of the proposed high school boundaries.

It also entails the consolidation of the elementary schools.

The Vidalia and Ferriday school zones would be paired for grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Students enrolled in kindergarten through second grade would attend Vidalia Upper Elementary. Students enrolled in third through fifth grade would attend Ferriday Upper Elementary. Students enrolled in sixth through eighth grade would attend Ferriday Junior High.

Click here to view a map of the proposal to consolidate elementary schools.

However, the board’s announcement was met with backlash from parents on social media, with some suggesting they would send their children to private schools.

Bachus answered this backlash with a positive message about the district’s performance scores, which have improved for the third straight year.

“I think with everything going on in all discussions, we need to know exactly where we are and who we are,” she said. “Every single year that I’ve had the honor to hold this position, I’ve had the blessing of sharing good news as our schools continue to grow. … In the past two years in a row, we’ve had the opportunity to be in the top 10% for growth nationally.  This year … we were still in the top 25%. … In public education, we get the unique opportunity of accepting every single child that walks through our door. And although in Concordia Parish, 36% of our students either have an IEP or an IAP (Individualized Education Plan or an Individualized Accommodation Plan), our district is still performing.”

Bachus pointed out that five out of the districts’ 11 schools were identified as “Top Gains” honorees, meaning those schools showed exceptional improvement on students’ state tests.

Additionally, Ferriday schools have grown consistently for the past four years, Bachus said.

“There is a misconception out there that our children are not getting an education in all of our schools,” Bachus said. “I’m not selling a dream. I’m telling you facts. … Concordia Parish is growing, and together we can continue to grow. And I would be a crazy nut if I did not fight for my district. I would be less than a superintendent if I didn’t take every moment from now until May, until August, until whatever date this is over, to explain to you who we are. Because looking at the Facebook posts, some of y’all forgot. We are Concordia Parish. We defy odds. We are a family. Where one of us hurts, all of us hurt. We are a district on the move. Don’t let nobody fool you. When somebody says the district’s going down … what measurement are you using? Because your measurement could never be your mouth.’”