RESERVE — Superintendent Kevin George said St. John the Baptist Parish Public School leaders are hoping to receive a final insurance settlement as soon as next week following a fire that heavily damaged East St. John Elementary School in August.

“We’re still negotiating with (the insurance company) and trying to come to an agreement on the final cost, but we do anticipate a settlement in the first week or so of December,” George said.

In anticipation of that resolution, St. John School Board members in attendance at last week’s special-called meeting approved a motion for Yeates & Yeates Architects to begin designs for a new East St. John Elementary School that would include some demolition and reconstruction, as well as remodeling.

During this month’s meeting, District 2 School Board Member Albert Burl said the project could cost between $10 and $13 million.

George stressed the final project cost is unknown until the District receives an insurance settlement and formally approves the project for construction bid.

During the Nov. 17 School Board meeting, Burl said the Land and Facilities Committee opted to table a recommendation on the East St. John Elementary project because of the unknowns involved in how much insurance money the District had at its disposal.

He also questioned how the School District could fund the East St. John Elementary rebuild for less than $13 million while needing more than $20 million for construction of a new Lake Pontchartrain Elementary.

Following Burl’s comments, District 8 School Board Member Russ Wise expressed concern that George was deciding for School Board members in advising them to proceed with the Yeates & Yeates Architects design option.

He cited unanswered questions raised by Burl and a lack of community participation as reasons to hold off. He motioned to table the decision but it did not proceed due to the lack of a second.

George said School Board members were presented six options in a public forum about East St. John Elementary’s redesign, of which the school’s principal and staff used the proposals in meetings with the school community to come up with a recommendation.

“They came back and recommended option 4, which again I did not decide, I came up with 3 or 4,” George said at the meeting. “That is what we are discussing today.”

Using Option 4, School Board members present last week — including Burl and Wise — voted unanimously to have Yeates & Yeates Architects start designing a renovated plan for East St. John Elementary.

George said Option 4 demolishes the school’s main building, where the fire began near the school’s cafetorium and principal’s office and upgrades other portions of the building that didn’t sustain any fire damage.