AMY SZPARA

RESERVE – The St. John Parish School Board declared an emergency Thursday in order to extinguish a slew of pesky termites from East St. John High in Reserve. According to the school’s principal, Debra Schum, the most affected area is outside of the gym. She told board members some placards haven fallen to the ground and crumbled, and fortunately no students were in the area at the time. Even so, she said, students have been distracted by the creatures. “In a classroom, we had termites swarming around the students’ heads. We removed the kids from the classroom for three days,” she said. “I’m not sure where all the damage is, and we’d like to make sure that nothing happens.” Hoping the needed extermination can take place during the upcoming Easter holidays while students are out of school for nine days, school board Director of Human Resources Alfred Donaldson brought a motion before the board to deem the termite infestation an emergency. The board approved a treatment that will cost $19,000 with an annual renewal of $900 with Ross Louque of St. Rose. The cost will include treatment of the gym, three buildings and two trailers on the property. The buildings will be drilled and trenched and treated with the termicide Chemical Premise. Donaldson added two other schools, John L. Ory and Fifth Ward Elementary, have also had problems with termites. The board agreed to let the administration get quotes and treat the buildings in the next couple of weeks. “We plan to do a comprehensive study on all our buildings,” said Donaldson. “We do not have a comprehensive termite plan. We’re going to check all the schools.” Board member Russ Wise said, “This really bugs me. There are termites in Louisiana. I couldn’t even buy a house without making sure I had termite control.” Though Donaldson said the schools do have bug control, the infestations in three schools suggest the soil may not have been pre-treated correctly. “We need an annual treatment. Those schools definitely have a problem that needs to be treated,” he said. Only board member James Madere voted against declaring the emergency at East St. John. He said very little wood exists in the school, and because the building is mostly brick and steel, “It seems like a waste of money.” Treatment at East St. John will begin and be completed during Easter break, April 16-20, so that no students will be on campus at the time.