All EBR classes are canceled on Monday

All East Baton Rouge Parish classes on Monday have been canceled Monday while officials work to bridge their differences with bus drivers but also cafeteria workers who had pledged to call in sick en masse that day.

The growing sickout, which a local teacher union joined Sunday, compelled Supt. Sito Narcisse to make what he called “a very difficult decision” to reverse course and keep kids home from school Monday, upending previously announced plans to have school Monday on a near normal schedule.

Narcisse has scheduled private meetings Monday with drivers and other disaffected employees to “mitigate their issues.” The district is planning to announce by 6 p.m. Monday plans for what school on Tuesday will look like, and it will make similar daily announcements for the rest of the week.

On Tuesday, children will collect their laptops — some elementary schools keep them at school — in case employee absences remain at high levels and the district is forced to shift to remote learning, which Narcisse said would occur districtwide if it occurred.

Narcisse spoke late Sunday at the School Board Office where he was flanked by 17 government and community leaders, including parish District Attorney Hillar Moore, who spoke briefly.

Monday classes were officially canceled three hours before the press conference. But while kids will stay home, school employees are still expected to show up for work Monday.

Since no buses will be operating, transportation service won’t be available Monday to charter and parochial schools as well as for any other events for which district bus drivers provide transportation.

All Catholic schools in Baton Rouge plan to continue with school Monday, with parents being obliged to provide their own transportation, said Pattie Davis, superintendent for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Charter schools are free to make their own calls about school Monday. One new charter school, Prescott Academy, run by Arizona-based Third Future Schools, is having its first day of school Monday, operating at 4055 Prescott Road at the campus of the former Prescott Middle.

Also, officials have proposed a special School Board meeting for this Thursday to authorize a change in school start times. If approved, this meeting will serve two purposes:

To present a revised transportation plan that includes the recommendation for two different start and end times for elementary schools.
A request to authorize a change to instructional day start and end times for a specified group of elementary schools to support the efficiency of transportation services.

To ensure that students’ attendance records are not adversely impacted as a result of transportation issues, absences and late arrivals will be excused for all students from Aug. 9 through Sept. 1.

The school system’s Department of Transportation is working on creating bus routes and bus assignments that are complementary to staggered school start times and that require fewer routes and a reduced number of bus operators.

The logistics for the district’s revised transportation plan are expected to be complete by the mid-point of the upcoming week.

The Department of Transportation will also collaborate with the Division of School Leadership and the Department of Communications to develop a communication roll-out plan that prepares students and their families for potential changes to their bus assignments, bus routes, and/or school start time.

The launch date of the revised transportation routes and staggered school start times is expected to be Sept. 5, after the Labor Day holiday.