BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge School Board voted Monday to close nine schools and consolidate several more.

The unanimous vote to accept Superintendent Lamont Cole's realignment plan will move more than 10,000 students and about 1,000 staff members in the parish.

Students will finish this school year at their current schools, with big changes coming in the fall.

"Sometimes doing something better means doing something different, so this is our effort to do something different, and we firmly believe if we get it right, it's going to be something better for our students," Cole said.

The closure of Capitol High School was a big concern for many at the meeting. Under the realignment plan, Capitol High will close and students will be moved to the site of Capitol Middle for seventh to 12th grade.

Several alumni spoke to the board, saying closing down Capitol High will be detrimental to the community and that while they generally supported Cole, they could not support the shuttering of Capitol High.

East Baton Rouge School Board President Shashonnie Steward, who is a Capitol High alumna, said the decision was difficult. 

"Think about the students. Think about what you received from Capitol. People talk about the history and what Capitol has done for them. What about the students? What is it doing for the students now? Are we giving the student what we received when we were in the building? No, we haven't, and it is time that we do," Steward said. 

Bernard Terrace's students would be reassigned to Dufrocq Elementary, while the Eva Legard Center's program would relocate to Glasgow Middle School.

Ryan Elementary's students will be assigned to Progress Elementary, Westminster Elementary's students will move  to Wedgewood Elementary, and Winbourne Elementary's students will go to Capitol and Melrose elementary schools.

Capitol Middle will take seventh through 12th grade students, and Capitol Elementary will take students from third to sixth grade.

TO CLOSE
Bernard Terrace Elementary
Capitol High
Eva Legard Center
IDEA Bridge
IDEA Innovation
JK Haynes Elementary
Ryan Elementary
Westminster Elementary
Winbourne Elementary

BUILDINGS REPURPOSED

Belfair Montessori Magnet School
Bernard Terrace Elementary
Capitol Middle site
Eva Legard Center
Ryan Elementary
Winbourne Elementary

BUILDINGS VACANT/TBD

Capitol High
EBR Readiness Middle School
JK Haynes Elementary
Westminster Elementary