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On Thursday night, members of St John’s School Board voted to authorize the closure of Fifth Ward Elementary school,  which had been at the center of controversy due to its proximity to a chemical plant.

This decision follows a hard-fought legal tussle led by environmental activists and community leaders to close the school, as the board voted 7-4 in favor of closure of the school. 

The vote was preceded by extensive comments between board members over the transparency of the process of closure initiated by the strategic planning committee.

The board’s vote clears yet another hurdle in the path of the controversial subject. The recent  move will ensure the relocation of 316 students of Fifth Ward Elementary school to two schools in the district.

“We have to continue making these tough decisions,” President of the school board Shawn Wallace said after the vote, “that sound fiscally responsible for the budget that we maintain.”

The school is located 500 feet away from Denka Performance Elastomer, and is the only industrial plant in the country that emits chloroprene. 

Last year, the EPA and the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the chemical company, Denka Performance Elastomers facility in LaPlace that its neoprene operations endangered residents due to the cancer risks its chloroprene emissions pose.

Chloroprene is a chemical compound that scientists confirm that when inhaled, especially by children, can cause cancer and genetic mutations.

Another motion passed by the school board was to change the name of East St. John Preparatory to Fifth Ward Preparatory to honor its history and alumni of the school. 

Victor Jones, a lawyer with the Legal Defense Fund, said that East St. John Prep, where the students will be relocated, is sited very close to the Denka plant and is not designed as an appropriate facility for children in grades pre-K through 4.

“I’m happy that they are closing the school because every day that school remains open, those children remain in danger. However, we won’t be satisfied until that issue is addressed,”  he said.