Here’s What Central Inherited from EBR — The Central Middle School

CENTRAL — Forced, cross-town busing wasn’t the only reason residents of Central fought so hard to secede from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System and form their own independent community school system in 2007.

There was also the matter of the most unimaginable neglect of school facilities.  For example, in the early 1980’s, the Central Middle auditorium sprung a leak.  The EBR school board failed to repair it, and the damage got worse and worse. Finally, in 1987, the state officially condemned the building, and it was left beyond repair.  But, still, the EBR board did nothing, refusing even to tear it down.  When EBR was forced to transfer all school facilities here to the Central school board, Central citizens found the lights in the auditorium still working — 20 years after condemnation!

In the main classroom buildings of CMS, dangerous life-threatening asbestos is in the ceiling, but EBR refused to repair or tear down the building.  Instead, they turned over the problem to the people of Central, who responded this week with the opening of the new $46 million Central School Complex, paid for by the people of Central without help from the state, the federal government, or EBR.