LUTCHERÂ â The pending closure of the Shell Oil refinery in Convent, an industrial mainstay and top employer in St. James Parish, could cost the local public school district $13.9 million over the next year and a half and change the way schools operate over an even longer term.
While the scenario presented to school board members Tuesday night represented a worst-case scenario, it s possible that some district employees could lose their jobs, and student-teacher ratios could take a hit.
If the projections do hold true through the end of fiscal year 2021-22, school finance officials said in a report that the system would be unable to maintain current service levels in the next full fiscal year beginning July 1 and that cutting personnel costs would be virtually impossible to avoid.Â