Corwin Robinson has been hired as the new turnaround principal for LaGrange High School, Calcasieu Parish School Board Superintendent  Shannon LaFargue announced at Tuesday’s meeting.

LaFargue said Robinson has already toured the facilities and plans to meet with administrative staff on Sunday, to ensure he can begin his tenure position on Monday by “hitting the ground running.”

Robinson was one of seven candidates that were interviewed for the CPSB Superintendent position in May 2022. Robinson served as program administrator in the St. Tammany Parish school system and as the Superintendent of Lake County Schools in Tiptonville, Tenn., from 2012 -2014.

LaFargue also gave an update on CPSB school security and recognized the law enforcement agencies that have partnered with CPSB.

According to LaFargue, the second meeting between law enforcement agencies and CPSB took place last week.

The goal of this meeting was to “ensure that all agencies were on the same page, and that current information was being shared,” he said.

LaFargue described the security measures that are being made at CPSB via these partnerships. “The Marshal’s office has provided us with deputy rotations throughout our schools for more law enforcement presence,” he stated. “In addition, to continue to increase law enforcement presence on our campuses, CPSO is now starting rotations with a quick response unit in schools throughout the parish weekly.”

He also stated that Risk Management is conducting site checks for doors, and plans to soon provide security forms to CPSB examining schools.

LaFargue said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter and his team have been in “constant conversation” and collaboration with CPSB. “They’ve given you guys permission to get into our schools, which we appreciate so much.”

Representatives from The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, The Westlake Police Office, McNeese Police Department, Lake Charles Police Department, Louisiana State Police, Iowa Police Department, Sulphur Police Department, and DeQuincy Police Department were present.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff  Tony Mancuso stated, “We have been working closely together, which we always have throughout the years.”

“We are committed to, first of all, stopping any threat to our schools and our children,” he said. “Of course, we are prepared in the event that something happens. We are on the same page, getting the same training and making sure that we do everything we can to ensure that our kids are safe in our schools.”

Lake Charles Police Chief Shawn Caldwell stated there were a series of meetings that occurred to ensure that preemptive measures and emergency procedures were consistent across organizations.

“We take this very seriously, and we do our best to learn from things that we see that we don’t like,” he said. “We want to ensure that we take steps and proper training to ensure that does not happen here.”

The board voted unanimously to approve their agreement with Big Brothers/Big Sisters to institute both the mentoring program and MentorU.

They also voted unanimously to renew the District Attorney’s Early Intervention Program.

CPSB will conduct their Budget Committee and C&I meetings on Sept. 27, 2022.