Planning and construction discussed at Town Hall meeting
Bossier Parish Schools has land for a new school in Benton, as well as other areas in the parish, said the parish’s supervisor of planning and construction.
Keith Norwood, supervisor of planning and construction for Bossier Schools, discussed district facilities during a special town hall Tuesday night.
When asked a submitted question about rumors of a new school in Benton, Norwood stated that land has been purchased.
However, he added that there are other potential sites throughout the parish that could be future school sites, and he would like to find another site for the growth that is occurring in Haughton.
“We currently have three or four sites that we had obtained for potential future school sites. One is next to the South Bossier Park, one is next to Turtle Creek Elementary, one is near Vanceville Road and 4900 Benton Road. We are always aware of that need,” Norwood said. “I would like to find another elementary school site potentially for the Haughton area for their growth. We try to plan ahead. It’s difficult always to know where the need is going to occur first but we’re watching that very closely.”
Norwood also noted that parish buildings have an average age of “about 50 years,” with some being “80- or 90-years-old or more.”
Still, he discussed the efforts made by the parish to remedy this, explaining, “A real milestone for Bossier is that this year we’re removing almost all of our remaining T-buildings from the three schools that have had them either the most or the longest, or both — Sun City Elementary, Benton Middle and the former Benton High School.”
The Bossier Parish School Board hosted the town hall meeting at the Bossier Instructional Center on Airline Drive in Bossier City to give the community insight into addressing child nutrition, transportation and planning/construction.
