The New York Times takes a look at the possible closure of Ville Platte High School through the eyes of its football team, the Bulldogs.
This tiny, rural town in Cajun country is struggling again to find its racial equilibrium. A 43-year-old desegregation case remained unresolved on Nov. 4 as voters narrowly rejected a property tax increase to build a new Ville Platte High, which has faced decades of neglect since white flight accompanied integration in 1969. ...
A hearing on the school’s fate is scheduled for Dec. 15 before the federal judge overseeing the case. If Ville Platte High ceases to exist, officials said, this town of 8,316 would be the only county seat in Louisiana’s 64 parishes without a public high school. Students would be dispersed to one or more of the other three high schools in Evangeline Parish. But no Bulldog wants to be a Mamou Green Demon or a Pine Prairie Panther or a Basile Bearcat next season. Some said they might simply give up football. ...
Read "Louisiana School Could Be Facing a Last Hurrah."