BATON ROUGE - Residents of the Broadmoor neighborhood gathered at Tuesday night's meeting to learn about the community's new school.
The East Baton School system plans to combine Broadmoor Elementary and Middle schools. It's part of the academic and efficiency initiative that will merge other EBR schools as well. School board superintendent Warren Drake said the need for improvement in EBR's school system is prevalent.
"We have to get better academically and we have to get better financially, economically so this plan is a part of a larger plan that will help us see this through to fruition," Drake said.
Some residents in the area shared concerns about housing elementary and middle schoolers on the same campus. Others said things like school start time, along with traffic and drainage issues, raise more concerns for residents.
Another concern for residents is the current schools' below average academic performances. One resident commented that the money being used to build the new school should perhaps be put towards improving academics.
"The academic aspects and if they're going to spend twenty thirty million dollars on a new school perhaps they should consider raising the bar and creating a magnet school or an emerging gifted program," one resident said.
During Tuesday's meeting, The school board displayed renderings of the new Broadmoor Elementary and Middle School that will serve grade kindergarten through eighth.
Residents also got the chance to talk with the current principals of both the elementary and middle school.
A tax plan was approved back in 2008 will provide the funding to complete the new school. The new building will be located on Goodwood Blvd.