1927 Auditorium to Be Demolished

    The Central Community School Board voted unanimously Monday to approve Superintendent Faulk's request to immediately demolish the historic 1927 Central High School Auditorium.  The building, which is the oldest public school building in the parish and the oldest commercial building in Central, was the focal point of an 18-month campaign to renovate it for use as a history museum, meeting place, and cultural center for the Central community.
    The Central Cultural Foundation presented a plan to the school board early in 2015 which met the criteria that the school board stated were necessary to approve the renovation project. However, the lease put out for bid by the school board placed requirements and restrictions well beyond the CCF’s plan approved by the school board.
    During the discussions leading up to the leasing of the building, the school board’s attorney advised that the property was not deed-restricted to educational use, as all parties had believed, but instead could be sold as valuable commercial property.
    The Central Cultural Foundation declined to bid on the lease.  Chairman Dave Freneaux explained, “The CCF could not in good faith bid on the lease as proposed, as the terms of the lease made the project unreasonable to undertake.”  The school board denied the CCF’s request to negotiate the terms of the lease, and the school board received no bids.
    CCF Chairman Freneaux added “I would like to personally thank the many hundreds of people who got behind this effort for historic preservation and promotion of culture and the arts in Central.”
    The school board gave Superintendent Faulk the green light to proceed with demolition plans.  The next step, according to Faulk in an interview with The Advocate, is to solicit quotes from contractors and then proceed with demolition.