LIVINGSTON PARISH - Nearly two years since the August 2016 flood, all but three public school campus in Livingston Parish damaged by the flood have been restored to pre-flood status.

“It’s phenomenal to think about the amount of work that has been done in such a short period of time,” Superintendent Rick Wentzel said. “If someone would have told me when I first became superintendent that I had to build six new schools in this district in under two years, I would have said it’s impossible. But that’s basically what we’ve done – and more! It’s really miraculous when you think about the enormity of it all.”

Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy noted that 16 of the district's 19 flood-damaged sites reopened during the 2016-2017 school year. Of those 16 sites, five received three feet of water, and four received four to six. According to the release Denham Springs Elementary, Southside Elementary, and Southside Junior High received catastrophic damage and were declared "substantially damaged" by certified FEMA Floodplain Managers.

Murphy said the final recovery projects completed in July 2018 included the completion of the library and Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) facility at Denham Springs High School, and the replacement of all the floor tiles and baseboards at Denham Springs Freshman High, Denham Springs High, Denham Springs Junior High, Lewis Vincent Elementary, and Seventh Ward Elementary.

Final repairs to Freshwater Elementary, Northside Elementary, and Springfield High School were completed last summer, according to the release.

Other sites fully repaired during the 2016-2017 school year included Live Oak High School, Holden, Doyle Elementary, Doyle High Athletic Complex, Westside Junior High, Walker Freshmen High, the Cook Road warehouse, and the Central Office Special Education Building and Transportation Department.

The district also opened Live Oak Junior High in August of 2017 and will open a newly constructed Walker High campus this month.