By LEONARD GRAY

LULING – An eight-district redistricting plan received swift approval from the St. Charles Parish School Board, as prepared by the staff of South Central Planning & Development Commission in Thibodaux.

The board approved the district map, expanding the board from seven to eight districts and including four districts on each side of the Mississippi River, and one minority district on each side of the river. However, to achieve those minority districts, some creative manipulation was necessary.

The plan, which would go into effect with the fall election carves Destrehan among all four East Bank districts and scoops a New Sarpy black-majority neighborhood to join with the predominantly St. Rose district.

The present district design also has two districts, One and Two, crossing the Mississippi River to each take a slice of Destrehan. Now, under the eight-district design, neither will cross the river.

Attending the Monday special meeting of the school board, and approving the plan unanimously, were Wayne Roussel, John L. Smith, Ronald St. Pierre and Alfred Green.

Kevin Belanger, chief executive officer of South Central Planning, presented the redistricting plan, the concept for which was approved Jan. 23 by the board.

Belanger said this latest design of the district map included tweaks of precincts, including moving Myrtle Hill and Landsdown from District 3 to 8.

These are the approximate district designs approved by the board:

District One includes Killona, Taft, Hahnville and the following areas of Luling, the Paul Fredrick Street area and the Boutte Estates area.

District Two includes the River Road strip of Luling up to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, Barton Avenue area, Ama, Willowdale and Lakewood.

District Three includes Destrehan along River Road from Destrehan Drive almost to Crespo Lane, St. Rose Avenue to the Illinois Central Railroad and the Dianne Place area, as well as the Ormond area north of the IC Railroad and from Ormond Boulevard to Duleith, south of Ashland Drive.

District Four includes Mozella, Paradis, Des Allemands, Bayou Gauche and the Magnolia Ridge area of Boutte.

District Five includes the rest of St. Rose, excluding that portion in District Three, and includes the following streets in New Sarpy: E. McAdoo, E. Hoover, E. Easy and E. Harding, and the east side of Lawson, north of S. Johnson Street.

District Six includes Montz, Norco and the rest of New Sarpy, and also Acadian Trace Subdivision.

District Seven includes the rest of Luling not in District Two, including central Luling, Mimosa Park, Coronado and the rest of Boutte.

District Eight includes the rest of Ormond and River Road subdivisions from Destrehan Drive to east of Van’s Lane.

In two weeks, Belanger plans to have the complete package, ready for submission to the U.S. Justice Department for approval in time for the fall school board elections.

Qualifying for the Oct. 5 primary election will be Aug. 21-23, with the runoff elections set Nov. 5, according to a board spokesperson.