In the past two weeks, 3,000 people signed a petition and are seeking to break away from Baton Rouge and start their own city and school district.
So much for hometown hospitality.
The proposed city would be called St. George and have a population of 107, 262 people.
More than 75 percent of those employed have white collar jobs— just to hint at the type of person who would be populating this proposed city. This scheme reeks of white supremacy.
The ordeal began after a concerned group was rejected for trying to create a breakaway school district. Now the supporters of St. George have escalated to forming their own city in order to improve schools in their area.
It all sounds a little heroic, right? Adults rallying together to improve public education, which is a nice thought. But the reality of the situation is that the members of St. George are breaking away from areas in East Baton Rouge Parish that need education improvements more than they do.
If the aim of St. George is truly to promote a better education program, then the operation is futile. The already substantial schools would get more funding and the public schools elsewhere would be left to deteriorate, leaving children in those areas to face an even greater struggle.
Instead of fighting for better education all around, the people behind this endeavor are fighting for selective education in their designated area. A little selfish, or as they put it on their website, merely citizens choosing the “direction for [their] community!”
They are furthering the divide in the class system we already see present in Baton Rouge and calling themselves grass-roots citizens.
Maybe this divide has been long coming, but regardless of the actual separation, it’s the reasoning behind it that has created uproar from outsiders.
Supporters are standing by their seemingly righteous motives. They say that the city will continue to be an involved part of the EBR Parish, but with more control over their tax dollars.
That’s right, what started as a fight over education has now turned into a pouting party about taxpayer’s money. Hello, upper- class Baton Rouge citizens.
Mayor-President Kip Holden disagrees with the division. He has made it clear he thinks this endeavor is just a group of people set to separate the parish in any way they can. It’s obviously his job to keep the people together, but he has a point.
Touching on the main issue in question, Holden made a point to inform supporters that he is still unsure if St. George could keep its sales tax revenue. Naturally, the St. George supporters said the opposite.
Co-chairman of the St. George incorporation effort Norman Browning says that it’s not about separating from Baton Rouge, it’s about the formation of St. George. A cheesy way of saying they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but St. George is tired of being lumped in with the rest of Baton Rouge.
Notice how their website only possess a “Pro’s of Incorporation” FAQ link. Supporters don’t want the public to know the city would incorporate some of the parish’s largest tax contributors, like the Mall of Louisiana.
Right now the Mayor’s Office and the members of St. George are playing a game of he-said, she-said, with both sides trying to retain support with potentially false promises. Sooner or later, the facts will be set straight and can hopefully shed some light on the confused citizens of St. George who are gliding along out of ignorance.
As the petition efforts continue, the debate is heating up and I predict it won’t be long until the city of St. George internally divides among its residents in favor and those against it.
In the unlikely event that St. George is successful in its creation, it would be considered the sixth-largest city in the state. So far they have 3,000 signatures, with about 15,000 to go.
Let the battle begin.
Annette Sommers is an 18-year-old mass communication sophomore from Dublin, Calif.