Zachary Plainsman-Advocate 07-23-2025

Leila Pitchford AROUND ZACHARY

School coming soon

The first days of school are happening soon. Zachary and West Feliciana schools start Aug. 7 East Feliciana schools start Aug. 11. Parents and guardians should make sure they have taken care of all enrollments and fees, checking on transportation and getting supplies.

Bowl your way back to school

The Roll & Bowl Back 2 School Bash will be from 4-7 p.m. Aug. 2 at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 9700 Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge. Free food, bowling and skating will be available. Free school supplies will be given to Baker, Zachary, Scotlandville and Southern University Lab students.

Registration is required at https://docs.google.com/forms/ d/e/1FAIpQLSeo2iMwH4tSPoS kihLwx_5xUgd5OWhy8moKeq Yq-Si8ihYM-g/viewform.

Other back to school events

n The Zachary Men’s Club will have food, games and other activities at 10 a.m. Aug. 2.

n The Dr Martin Luther King Jr Committee of Zachary will hold its Back to School Giveaway from 10 a.m. until supplies run out Aug. 2 at the Zachary High School Gym, 4100 Bronco Lane. School supplies, sno-balls and other refreshments will be available as well as the bookmobile. Attendees are asked to bring a canned good to donate. For information or to sign up as a vendor contact Johnnie Evans (225) 933-6431 or Tina Clark (225) 202-1076.

Fall baseball registration open T-ball, 8U, 10U, and 12U divisions are gearing up for a season at Zachary Youth Park. Registration closes July 31. Games run Sept. 18-Oct. 23 at Zachary Youth Park. Register players and coaches on the SportsPlus app at zacharyyouthpark.org/registration

Pastalaya sale planned

The Zachary Rotary is holding a pastalaya sale July 31 from 11 a.m. until sold out. Pick up is at Zachary City Hall, 47600 Main St. Delivery is available for prepaid orders of 10 or more within Zachary Text (225) 936-6523 to set up delivery The Zachary Fire Department is preparing the meal. Cash, check and Venmo @ZacharyRotaryClub will be accepted.

Zoo to host car show

The inaugural Rumble in the Jungle will roll into town Nov 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., bringing together car lovers, families and animal enthusiasts. This event will showcase an array of vehicles — from classic cruisers to custom builds — set against the backdrop of the zoo grounds. Attendees can enjoy a full day of animal encounters, family-friendly activities and cars, included with the price of admission.

Vehicle registration is open through Oct. 10. Visit brzoo.org/ rumble for registration details and event updates.

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Councilman says city attorney made threats

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Zachary City Council members are calling for the mayor to investigate the city’s attorney, who one councilman says threatened him with a smear campaign if he did not vote to roll forward an upcoming tax millage.

At a July 9 council meeting, Council member John LeBlanc told the public that an unnamed city official made threats against him and another council member Emails obtained via a records request show Zachary City Attorney John Hopewell is the official LeBlanc was talking about. Ambre DeVirgilio was the other council member allegedly threatened, the emails show “As a city attorney, that was so

unethical,” LeBlanc said Thursday “He should have never been talking to me about politics like that. We go to him for legal advice. His business is not to get involved with with how I vote.”

Hopewell denies issuing any threat against LeBlanc, and said “I have no official comment other than I am disappointed in Mr LeBlanc.”

But LeBlanc says the private conversation between himself and the city attorney was nothing but threatening.

“He should resign,” LeBlanc said.

The decision at the center of the controversy is a property tax

that funds city operations, which the council is scheduled to vote on July 22. When property values are re-assessed and go up, governments can choose to “roll forward” the tax, meaning they collect the additional money, or let the tax rate fall and keep collecting the same amount.

‘Sounds like a threat to me’

LeBlanc said he and Hopewell met on May 13 to discuss city business. He said he was “stunned” when the city attorney told him that, if he didn’t support rolling forward the city’s millage rate, a group would distribute negative flyers during the next campaign

READY, SET, SCHOOL

Block party preps students

Students lined up Saturday at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church’s BackTo-School Block Party to pick up school supplies and items needed when the bell rings in August.

Inflatables, music and games drew a crowd as families prepare for the start of school on Aug. 11.

portraying him and DeVirgilio as tax-hike supporters to conservative voters.

The next day, LeBlanc recapped his version of the conversation in an email to Hopewell.

“You told me if I did not vote in favor of rolling the city’s millage forward, that the Jambalaya PAC would put myself and councilwoman DeVirgilio on a flyer containing photos of my yard with a district attorney millage sign and screenshots of councilwoman DeVirgilio’s social media during the next election cycle as a threat to coerce my vote,” he wrote.

LeBlanc said he supported East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore’s proposal to increase sales taxes for the prosecutor’s

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New Zachary school board plan lays out areas for improvement over 5 years

BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer

Zachary school leaders have an unveiled a strategic plan for the district. The plan lays out areas for improvement over the next five years. The School Board officially adopted the document at its meeting July 15

The plan has been in the works for the past year Rebecca Armstrong-English, of the nonprofit Empower Schools, worked with the district — including a strategic plan steering committee — to gather input, observe classrooms, evaluate issues and set new priorities.

“What’s good is it’s a living plan, so we’ll make updates as we move forward. We’ll also be tracking this.” BEN NECAISE, superintendent

Su rv ey s co mpl et ed early in the process, which netted more than 550 responses, indicated that stakeholders appreciate the school system’s familylike environment and strong community partnerships, Armstrong-English told the board. Another significant positive finding: 74% of teachers said they feel a sense of belonging at their schools. But the surveys also revealed gaps. Like many districts, Armstrong-English said, Zachary faces financial constraints that limit resources and program offerings. Recruiting and retaining top teacher talent remains a challenge, and compensation and professional development opportunities need improvement to be more competitive, she said.

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

A yard sign popped up earlier this month in front of Bethany Church’s Baker campus announcing the arrival of a new school:

“Come Home to Baker: Park Ridge! Now Enrolling.” Less than two miles north, Beth-

The plan identifies six focus areas to guide the district in the coming years. They are academic growth and achievement; positive student experiences; safety and facilities; stakeholder engagement and communications; workforce talent; and fiscal resources and technology

“What’s good is it’s a living plan, so we’ll make updates as we move forward,” said Superintendent Ben Necaise. “We’ll also be tracking this.”

The plan lists several performance targets, including boosting the number of graduates who go on to college, helping more students get career credentials, increasing the number of students taking AP exams and improving state testing scores.

Necaise said accountability data will be posted online, and the board will be provided with regular updates.

Zachary school district proposes tax plan

Community news report

On July 16, the Zachary Community School District announced a Nov 15, ballot initiative dubbed “Zachary Forward,” aimed at redirecting existing school bond taxes, once they are rolled back, toward critical needs in the district, without raising the tax rate on residents. The proposal would authorize the Zachary School Board to incrementally reallocate millages from bonds that are being paid off over the next eight years to fund employee compensation increases, facility repairs, and technology upgrades for classrooms, a news release said.

Superintendent Ben Necaise said, “Our teachers, students and community deserve the best,

and we have a unique chance to invest in that, with no additional tax millage increase for our community By gradually reallocating the taxes we’re already paying, we can create a plan to significantly raise employee pay, fix aging school buildings, and update classroom technology all at the same tax rate or less.”

Over the next five months, the ZCSD will host a variety of informational meetings and have accessible answers to many FAQs on its website (http://www.zacharyschools.org/zachary-forwardinitiative) to educate voters.

Leaders of the school district will host a meeting Thursday, July 24, to provide details on their proposal to reallocate an existing property tax — a measure that will be put before voters in the

November election.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the school board office, 3755 Church St.

Anyone interested in having district team members present to a group of stakeholders or community members, reach out to mandy.bradley@zacharyschools. org. The Zachary Forward initiative comes as district’s previous school construction bonds, funded by a 36-mill property tax, near maturity If approved by voters, the measure would maintain the millage rate currently collected for bonds at a decreased 24 mills and allow the district to use the reduced millage over time to address three specified areas:

n Teacher and staff pay: The majority of the future funds col-

lected would enable more competitive salaries to recruit and retain quality educators (neighboring districts have implemented raises and ZCSD aims to be more competitive).

n Facilities maintenance: Addressing needed repairs and upgrades in school buildings that are 10–20 years old, such as roof replacements, HVAC systems and continued safety improvements.

n Technology for students and staff: Providing a sustainable funding source for modern classroom technology and equipment replacements, ensuring students have up-to-date learning tools through predictable upgrade rotations.

District officials stress that this will not result in a tax millage increase, but a rededication of an

existing tax incrementally over time.

“Voters will see the proposition on the ballot, and it will clearly state that this reallocation will not increase millages past the current rate of 24 mills,” said Necaise. “Once the bonds are paid in full, this allows us to keep approximately $8.5 million per year working in our schools, once the facility bonds are paid off, rather than losing that funding.”

The initiative was developed after ZCSD stakeholder input and strategic planning. A community advisory group identified employee pay facility upkeep and technology as top priorities for the district. The School Board voted to place the measure on the ballot, reflecting broad support for the plan.

COUNCIL

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office in May DeVirgilio said her social media posts provided information regarding the DA’s tax for her constituents, and she never voiced an opinion in favor or against the ballot measure.

Hopewell replied to LeBlanc the same day and said his comments were misunderstood, and that he was informing the councilman of potential bad publicity

LeBlanc said he walked away from his May 13 conversation believing that Hopewell would be part of this smear campaign if one took place.

About a month later, LeBlanc again met with Hopewell, but this time also had his personal attorney with him and tried to find out exactly where the threats were coming from.

“I asked him, ‘Who put this together? Where did this come from? Is this something that you put together on your own, or did

this come from someplace else?’”

LeBlanc said. “He said, ‘You want to know where it came from? I’ll tell you where it came from We had a meeting here at City Hall before I met with you. The mayor was here with our CFO and our CAO It was discussed at that meeting.’”

Zachary Mayor David McDavid denies knowledge of any discussions about a potential campaign against LeBlanc or DeVirgilio.

In several emails in May and June, Hopewell requested that LeBlanc reply and state that no threat took place though LeBlanc did not reply

“Ignoring me will not work for you,” Hopewell wrote in an email to LeBlanc on June 3. “I do not want to publicly embarrass you.”

Despite the city attorney’s repeated denial, LeBlanc still holds firm that what he heard was a threat.

“When somebody tells me, if I don’t do something, something is going to be used against me, that sounds like a threat to me,” he said.

Will the mayor investigate?

Following LeBlanc’s public comment regarding the alleged threats, DeVirgilio emailed the mayor on July 11 and asked him to initiate an inquiry into the matter, telling McDavid that potential threats “may have centered on matters related to me.”

But on Thursday, McDavid told The Advocate he would not investigate anything unless a request came from LeBlanc in writing, not DeVirgilio.

“He’s the one who made the waged the complaint and allegations, and I’ll hear from him if he wants to do an investigation,” McDavid said.

The mayor said that, if he gets that written complaint from LeBlanc and it includes additional supporting materials, then will he pass it on for an investigation.

“I used to be a policeman, and in my world, if they ain’t written down, with evidence, then it didn’t happen,” McDavid said. “So he needs to provide a written statement with witnesses so I can turn it over to the

Attorney General’s Office to see if they investigate.”

In a statement Thursday, DeVirgilio said she has not received any response from the mayor regarding her request and said she is “deeply concerned” about the allegations raised by her colleague. She said she is focused on “upholding transparency professionalism and accountability” in Zachary’s city government.

“Zachary is my home, and I believe in our city’s potential to move forward together free from division, distraction or intimidation,” DeVirgilio said.

LeBlanc said an investigation is more than warranted, but he also says Hopewell should resign and a public apology is needed from him and the mayor, as McDavid is responsible for his administration.

“It’s wrong. He was out of his so far out his lane as being an attorney,” LeBlanc said. “He should have never said what he said to me.”

Email Patrick Sloan-Turner at patrick.sloan-turner@ theadvocate.com.

BREC meeting in Baker BREC Interim Superintendent Janet Simmons is hosting a series of community town hall meetings across the cities in East Baton Rouge Parish throughout July and early August to share her vision, goals, and key initiatives during her six-month tenure. One meeting is at T.D. Bickham Park, Baker, at 6 p.m. July 31. Festival coming soon

Downtown Live will present the third annual Zachary Really Hot Air Balloon Festival from 5-9 p.m. Aug. 8 and from 4-9 p.m. Aug. 9 at BREC Zachary Community

Are you ready for some football?

Can you feel it in the air? The smell of freshly cut grass, the heat that just got that much hotter and the opportunities for gridiron greatness awaiting.

Former Bronco and current Tiger Chris Hilton Jr kicked things off last week as one of the LSU representatives at SEC media days

Hilton is a senior this year and figures to be a key target at wide receiver for the Tigers as they look to improve on last year’s 9-4 record They open things up on Saturday, Aug 30 against the Clemson Tigers at Clemson Memorial Stadium that they (Clemson) also refer to as “Death Valley.”

Football is not just for guys. At 6 p.m. on Aug. 15, the ZHS football coaching staff will host the third annual Ladies at the Corral. Last year over 140 women attended a night to simulate the high school football experience.

Participants activities include a pregame meal, a lecture by head football coach David Brewerton (Football 101), hype videos, breakout sessions with position coaches and coordinators, a pregame talk by coach Brewerton and a run through the Bronco head on to the field followed by a pre-game warmup

For more information, go to the Zachary Athletics website to get the QR code to register

Meet the Broncos

Aug. 25 is “Meet the Broncos” where the 2025 football, volleyball, cross-country and swim teams will be introduced along with cheerleaders and performances by the band.

Jamboree, Braves schedule

Hot off the presses! Northwestern Middle School’s football team has been invited to participate in a jamboree scrimmage in the Super Dome on Aug. 24 against West Ridge Middle School, a feeder school for West Monroe.

The Braves regular season starts on Aug. 27 with a home game against Cathedral-Carmel before head coach Aaron Odom and staff take the Braves on the road for matchups with John Curtis (Sept. 3) and Youngsville (Sept. 10)

The Braves will then host Lutcher (Sept. 17), West Feliciana (Sept 23), Jesuit (Sept. 30) and CSAL (Oct. 7) at Bronco Stadium

The Braves close out the season at home

on Oct. 23 against Brusly and Oct. 28 against Central.

Broncos ready to go

The ZHS Broncos will host Denham Springs on Thursday, Aug. 21 at the Bronco Corral. Last year’s scrimmage was quite chippy and should be interesting. The Yellow Jackets were knocked out of the 2024 playoffs in the first round by West Ouachita (42-41).

This year’s jamboree on Aug. 29 will have a new feel with the Broncos competing against the Livonia junior varsity and varsity teams.

Coach Brewerton indicated that next year the Broncos will start a home and home jamboree series with Alexandria Senior High that includes eighth grade, ninth grade, junior varsity and varsity games all on the same day

Plaquemine travels back to Zachary for the season opener on Sept. 5. In 2024 the Green Devils opened with a 49-14 loss to the Broncos and then proceeded to blow everyone out during the regular season (averaging almost 50 points per game).

Plaquemine advanced to the semifinals before falling to eventual 4A state champion Cecilia. To say there could be bad blood in this one is an understatement as coach Brewerton noted “they return 18 starters off a semifinal team so they should be really good.”

The following week, Sept. 12, the Wrecking Rams of Acadiana come to Zachary for Hall of Fame night. Brewerton said the Rams have a new coach in Doug Dotson whose father was a longtime head coach at Acadiana.

The Broncos will then head to Carencro on Sept 19 for a rematch of last year’s 34-33 Bronco victory Brewerton noted that, like Plaquemine, “Carencro has as bunch of returning starters including their outstanding quarterback and we are expecting another great game.”

The pre-district schedule ends with Opelousas on the road on Oct. 3. The Tigers graduated several players from last year’s team and their coach has moved on to Liberty and District 4-5A, but Liberty and the rest of District 4-5A are a tale for another day

Warren Brady covers sports for The Plainsman. He can be contacted at zachary@theadvocate.com.

lives in Baker and her deceasedhusband,Dana,served on the city school board for years. She said she’s disturbed by and struggles with the flurry of changes.

“I have a Ph. D and I am in the state legislature and I’m having difficulty understanding it,” Carpenter said. “So imagine people who have their kids in the system. I’m not sure that a good job has been done to explain to families and residents what is coming down the pipe.”

Three of the current charters GEO Prep as well as Impact Charter School and Advantage Charter Academy — aren’t limited to students from Baker and actively recruit throughout the area. The two newest charter schools, Park Ridge and Baker High, are limited to the city’s boundaries.

Impact Charter also recently moved abruptly from one part of Baker to another part of a fight between an ousted old leadership and a new set of managers.

Impact’s new management balked at the pricey lease at its historic home at 4815 Lavey Lane. The old management responded by serving them with an eviction notice for non-payment. Impact immediately cleared out its staff and its 400 students. It leased from the Baker school district the much less expensive former Baker Heights Elementary, less than a mile away

Impact’s management change was prompted by a damning investigative audit of the 11-year-old school, which has prompted a series of court battles.

Only Advantage Charter, home to almost 700 students, is not undergoing big changes, operating at a converted Walmart on Plank Road.

Takeover fallout

The late changes in school addresses in Baker were set in motion by the ongoing state push to take over two F-rated schools in Baker

Baker’s traditional public schools have hovered around the bottom of state academic rankings since 2003, when the city broke away from the parish school system. The Baker district’s problems started worsening in 2014 when the first charter schools opened there.

GEO Prep Baker, the city’s third charter school, opened in 2022 and has about 125 students in kindergarten to third-grade. It is expanding to grades K-8 and expects to double enrollment this year It will receive its first school report card this fall. Its parent organization, Indianabased GEO Academies, runs three other charter schools in Baton Rouge and all have B letter grades. Meanwhile, Baker Heights Elementary and Baker Middle schools slid to F letter grades and stayed there. Last year, the city school district sent the state improvement plans for the schools but got little feedback. Worried a state takeover was imminent, the Baker School Board on Feb. 11 voted to close both Baker Heights and Baker Middle and merge them with its highest performing school, Park Ridge Magnet.

Undeterred, the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or BESE, voted to take over the low performing schools anyway and selected GEO to run them.

The state informed Baker it would soon take over the 5903 Groom Road campus of Baker Middle; Park Ridge is next door and operates in tandem with the neighboring campus. Simultaneously, GEO began advertising the opening of a new school it called Baker Academy

The next day, the Baker School Board took the dramatic step of hiring Helix Community Schools, kicking off a three-month-long transformation of the district’s two remaining schools — Baker High and Park Ridge — into charters. That resets the school accountability clock, delaying and perhaps averting a state takeover Helix is led by Preston Castille, who is also the elected

BESE representative for the district that includes Baker Castille was the only BESE member who opposed the state takeovers expressing concern that they would bankrupt Baker schools. Castille said the imminent seizure of Baker Middle sparked his interest in finding an alternative location for Park Ridge. Castille said Bethany leaders reached out to him about a lease after hearing the news of the state takeovers, thinking GEO would be moving out of their space and occupying Baker Middle.

The takeovers, however, were halted April 21 by State District Judge Tarvald Smith, who ruled the state lost that option when it failed to accept or reject the improvement plans submitted by Baker Smith’s decision, however, is being appealed

‘Our Hurricane Katrina’

The ruling left GEO in a lurch. The charter organization returned to Bethany with a new offer to renew its lease, but Bethany ultimately opted for Helix

“This is essentially our Hurricane Katrina because we’ve lost our building,” said GEO’s founder and CEO Kevin Teasley

On July 7, Helix announced the move on social media: “Our Park Ridge Bethany campus is full of wonderful amenities such as science labs, playrooms, a full-size kitchen and cafeteria, outdoor playgrounds, auditoriums and one of the largest gymnasiums in the city.” Helix will continue to use the Groom Road campus for “electives and extracurriculars, especially those centered around the arts.”

With Bethany no longer an option, GEO ultimately found a new landlord in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. Built in 1960, White Hills Elementary was closed in 2024 and merged with Brownfields Elementary, located south of Baker White Hills’ Bentley Drive campus, just a rock’s throw from the city limits of Baker, has remained