Spirit of Acadiana: St. Landry Parish school finding new life

By: Scott Brazda

Posted at 7:56 AM, Feb 16, 2022

The Opelousas school formerly known as Southwest Elementary is coming close to a renewal and revival.

But before it becomes a charter school and welcomes students, there are inspections that need to be done.

"This place, we want to be a state-of-the-art school," said Debbie Faul of St. Landry Charter School. "We want to come in and renovate it. It's gonna take some time and each year we'll add to it."

August will be here soon enough. And as the St. Landry Charter School comes to terms with the St. Landry Parish School system, it's time for an assessment and prioritization.

"We're going to invest some time and money to make it that dream school," said Faul.

That's why Bayou State Inspections will spend the next few days making recommendations after they look at nearly everything on the property. 

Call it due diligence. They'll make sure the problems in the 60 year old building are taken care of before students step foot on campus.

There will be lots of activity during the spring and summer, but the goal of this charter school is admirable.

"We want to make it a school where kids want to come and parents are proud to have their kids come," said Faul.

It is hoped that the sale of the school will be finalized by mid-March and that grades K through 5 will be ready to go in August.

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