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W e d n e s d ay, a p r i l 16, 2025
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Closure of 5 EBR schools proposed
Superintendent also calls for merger of Capitol middle and high schools BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent LaMont Cole is recommending closing four elementary and one middle school as well as merging Capitol middle and high schools. Those proposed closures, announced Tuesday afternoon, come on top of already announced closures of J.K. Haynes elementary schools, formerly a charter school,
and two large charter schools run by Texas-based IDEA Public Schools. The most recent changes are found in Cole’s new, far-reaching “realignment” plan, which he unveiled Tuesday at a special meeting of the parish School Board. A total of 28 schools would see changes and 16 attendance zones would be redrawn. More than 10,000 children and 1,400-plus staff would be impacted. A final vote is expected May 1.
Any approved changes would go into effect in time for the start of the 2025-26 school year in August. “At the end of our conversation, I may be a hero or you may be asking for my resignation,” Cole told the board Tuesday. Cole Cole’s announcement has been a long time coming for the school system, which is
built for 60,000-plus students but is now educating fewer than 40,000. Cole held three well attended community meetings over the past month, but said he’s had at least 30 different meetings all over the parish as he developed the plan. Here are the schools being closed or consolidated: n Bernard Terrace Elementary, 241 Edison St. Its 230 students would be reassigned to Dufrocq elementary. n Capitol High, 1000 N. 23rd
2025 LEGISLATURE TRANSPORTATION
Fed up with bad roads
Lawmakers consider sweeping changes to DOTD
St., absorbing Capitol Middle, 5100 Greenwell Springs Road, to become a grades 6-12 school but operating on the newer campus of the middle school, built in 2004, but with upgrades. Capitol Middle currently has about 440 students and Capitol High has about 180 students. n Eva Legard Learning Center, 408 E. Polk St. The 70 students in that specialized environmental education program would relocate to Glasgow Middle, and later, McKinley High. The formerly
ä See CLOSURE, page 8A
$800M plant planned for port
Fidelis, Microsoft partnering on carbon capture facility BY BLAKE PATERSON
Staff writer
in Baton Rouge and long-standing traffic problems on Interstates 10 and 12 as examples of projects that are “begging for addressing.” “I know that if we don’t do anything, nothing will happen,” said Rep. Travis Johnson, D-Vidalia, adding that in his six years as a member of the transportation committee, the project backlog “has not improved at all.” If House Bill 621 passes, a new Office of Louisiana Highway Construction would be created — not within DOTD, but under the Division of Administration, which functions as the administrative arm of
Fidelis, a Texas-based energy company, is partnering with Microsoft on a proposed $800 million facility at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge which aims to capture carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and either store it underground or use it to create fuel. Microsoft signed a contract with Fidelis’ portfolio company AtmosClear to remove 6.75 million metric tons of CO2 from circulation over a 15-year period as part of a larger effort by the tech giant to offset its greenhouse gas emissions, Fidelis said Tuesday. Using materials like sugar cane bagasse and trimmings from “prudent” forest management, AtmosClear plans to produce “clean” energy while capturing carbon dioxide for permanent storage or use as a feedstock for low-carbon natural gas or other synthetic fuels. It’s unclear where the CO2 will be sequestered, though several companies in the region are seeking permits for wells to inject and store it in rock formations deep underground. The project is expected to create 75 permanent jobs and 600 construction jobs. The company said it is the world’s largest CO2 removal contract to date. The announcement comes as Louisiana has won an increasing number of projects in recent years aimed at reducing emissions
ä See ROADS, page 9A
ä See PLANT, page 8A
Construction continues on the Interstate 10 and Interstate 12 interchange in Baton Rouge. Staff writer
ä Car insurance legislation passes first hurdle. PAGE 9A
In an effort to pick up the pace of how quickly Louisiana builds and maintains roads and bridges, legislators are considering sweeping changes to the state Department of Transportation and Development — including creating an entirely new office outside the department to handle road work as well as privatizing many services. Over the course of a three-hour hearing Tuesday, House transportation committee chair Ryan Bourriaque, R-Abbeville, presented a package of four different bills aimed at overhauling the Transportation
Department. “We can acknowledge the department is unfunded,” Bourriaque said. “But we know we have issues with policies.” It was clear over the course of the hearing that significant pieces of the plan are still under construction. But all four bills were approved in committee as members voiced frustration with the pace of infrastructure work in Louisiana. Rep. Jeff Wiley, R-Maurepas, gave the example of a yearslong push to build a new Mississippi River Bridge crossing
BY ALYSE PFEIL
WEATHER HIGH 80 LOW 58 PAGE 8B
STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
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100TH yEAR, NO. 290