Budget Approved, New Reality Begins for Morehouse Parish Schools

MOREHOUSE PARISH (KTVE/KARD) -- The Morehouse Parish School District had been trying to form a budget reduction plan since February.

Even as recently as Fall 2013, they were talking about declaring a general fund emergency.

Now, administrators said the dust has settled and even though the landscape of the district has changed, school leaders said it will take them into the future.

A new reality is settling in for the Morehouse Parish School District.

No one was at work on Monday, beginning a new four-day school and work week, part of a budget reduction plan that took months to approve.

The school board last Tuesday approved a more than $42 million budget, putting them back in the green, according to the superintendent.

"It came from a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifices that were made by everyone here in Morehouse Parish. Everybody had to give up of something," said Superintendent Dr. George Noflin.

To save the more than $3 million they needed, 36 positions were cut from the district.

Many employees took a one-month cut from their salaries.

Elementary school grades were consolidated, making schools like Henry V. Adams and Cherry Ridge only Pre-K through 2nd Grade schools and Oak Hill and Pine Grove only 3rd through 5th Grade schools.

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Budget Approved, New Reality Begins for Morehouse Parish Schools