Opelousas Junior High School could merge with Opelousas Senior High School for the 2026-27 school year following an ultimatum from the Louisiana Department of Education.
In a letter dated Feb. 19, the LDOE informed the St. Landry Parish School Board that if the parish does not present a plan to merge OJHS and OSHS into a single school, the state will take over operations. According to the letter, OJHS has received an F grade from the state for seven consecutive years making it eligible for the state’s Recovery School District system.
OJHS is one of 28 schools Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley identified as being RSD eligible. A school must be classified by the state as “academically unacceptable” for four years in a row to be eligible for RSD, at which point the state can take control of the school…