Lafayette School Board Member Takes Issue With Green T. Lindon Expansion Proposal

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL) -- Disagreement arose Wednesday night between Lafayette Parish School System Superintendent Dr. Pat Cooper and Lafayette Parish School Board members over expansion plans for Green T. Lindon Elementary School in Youngsville.

The school has been experiencing overcrowding problems for years as the population in the community continues to rise. The proposed plans unveiled to the board featured several individual buildings connected by walkways.

Rae Trahan, District 9, questioned why a design was chosen that would send children into the elements to get from building to building. She also questioned why the board wasn't consulted early in the design process.

The project architect, Kirby Pecot, said it could cost the sytem another $800,000 to $900,000 to redesign the plans to connect the buildings, and such a desicion would derail the planned opening of the expansion for the fall of 2014.

Cooper said making that change to the design plans is an unnecessary expense.