BATON ROUGE - State education officials have signed an agreement allowing the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to regain control of shuttered Istrouma High School.

The parties finalized the deal Tuesday and the district school board will likely make a procedural move accepting it since the board approved moving forward with the plan in October. The state Recovery School District took over the school and then closed it two years ago.

"We are encouraged by the movement to return Istrouma to the East Baton Rouge Parish School System," an EBR Schools spokesperson said in a statement to WBRZ.

Recently, Superintendent Warren Drake said it was his goal to take control of the school back from the Recovery School District and eventually get public school students back in the classrooms on the campus. Drake has said he would like the school open by August. But, officials estimate it will cost around $10 million to reopen Istrouma.

Drake argues the school is vital to its neighborhood.

"We have no high school in 70805. We need a high school there. It's something we need to do. It's something the board has worked on for many years to do this," Drake said after the vote in October.

"This is an important school to the area, and we are developing plans to ensure that the that when the school reopens, the programming and facilities are first-rate and reflect the needs of the community," district spokesperson Adonica Duggan said Tuesday.

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