Superintendent: Re-enrollment needed to meet deseg case requirements

CENTERVILLE -- St. Mary Parish Superintendent Dr. Buffy Fegenbush says she understands the concerns of parents who must re-enroll students next month.

But meeting the requirements of the ongoing desegregation lawsuit must include the recently announced parishwide re-enrollment to make sure students are attending schools in the appropriate attendance zones, Fegenbush told local reporters Thursday at the Central Office.

It's not different from the process families go through to sign up students who are attending new schools, she said.

"This is not new," Fegenbush said. "This is something that has always been done.

"But as part of our obligations, we felt in good faith it was time to do a complete re-enrollment."

While the process itself isn't new, the scale is. Fegenbush said no parishwide re-enrollment has been done in at least the 32 years since she went to work for St. Mary public schools.

All public school parents will be required to provide documents proving residency April 3-30. The district's more than 7,000 students will be required to attend school in their attendance zones for the 2024-25 school year.

Transfers are allowed for extreme hardship. Also, students who are part of their racial majority in their own school may qualify for transfer to a school in which they would be in the minority. Transfer application is open until May 1.

The enrollment will also mean extra work for administrators and members of school office staffs, who may be required to put in some time on weekends, Fegenbush said. The district's six school resource officers are already beginning home visits to clear up questions about residency.

The desegregation lawsuit, Boudreaux vs. St. Mary Board of Education, was filed in 1965 and appeared headed for resolution within a decade.

But the final step, declaration that the public school system has "unitary status" and freedom from direct federal court oversight, never happened.

Court proceedings continue in the Western District of Louisiana in effort to resolve previously inactive desegregation cases, including the one involving St. Mary.

Unitary status generally requires proving that discrimination has been eliminated in key areas of the school system, known as "Green factors" after the case in which they were first defined. They include transportation, extracurricular activities, facilities, teacher and principal assignments, and student assignments.

Fegenbush said Thursday that she hoped to ease concerns and clear up misinformation about the re-enrollment.

"One of the obligations is student assignments," she said. "As part of student assignments, we have to make sure, as part of our very best faith effort, students are attending in the zones in which they live.

"Honestly, this is not an unfair ask."

Fegenbush estimated 96% of students won't be affected beyond the need to re-enroll. Others may be required to move to a school in their attendance zone, even though they've grown attached to another school.

"However, this is what we're required to do," Fegenbush said.