School, hospital bond election

St. Charles is a fortunate parish. We have one of the finest public school systems in the state, if not the best, and a hospital that offers modern medical services convenient to our residents.

There’s an important election this weekend in which both of them are asking for permission to issue bonds for improvement in their facilities.

The school system seeks $45 million for construction of additional classrooms and other facilities at several schools in the parish. It reportedly would reduce the number of portable classrooms from 74 to 10. It would also allow renovation and/or expansion of nine of the district’s 17 schools.

The hospital seeks $15 million to build a new out-patient medical center, state-of-the-art cardiac catheter lab and an after hours clinic on the East Bank of the Mississippi River. All of these seem important in providing modern medical attention convenient to our population which is in a very industrial area that can be prone to accidents requiring such attention.

Further details are available in a front page article in this issue of the Herald-Guide.

Obviously, this election can have a big effect on the future of our parish. Our school and hospital officials have made these proposals and it is up to our people to respond to them by voting this weekend.