– Two former St. Martinville Senior High football players asked the St. Martin Parish School Board at its Oct. 1 meeting to allow the school to rename its football stadium in honor of legendary coach Carroll Delahoussaye.
St. Martinville City Councilman Jonas Fontenette and former SMSH and LSU running back Garland Jean-Batiste, along with St. Martinville Mayor Jason Willis, attended the meeting this past Tuesday to make the case for honoring the two-time state championship- winning coach who spent 28 years heading the SMSH football program.
“We know the work he has put in,” Fontenette said.
“His record speaks for itself. I came here to tell y’all the effect he had on me growing up.
“We know this is something the school board hasn’t done, but we ask for a change on this.”
Fontenette said that other parishes have named stadiums for former coaches, such as Acadiana High’s Ted Davidson Field at Bill Dotson Stadium, Donald J. Gardner Stadium in Opelousas and Eunice High’s Paul Trosclair Field, renamed in honor of its former longtime coach in 2024. Other south Louisiana stadiums named in honor of former coaches or players include Berwick’s Paul Geisler Stadium, Franklin’s J.C. Dry Stadium, Ed Douglas Memorial Stadium in Kaplan, Erath’s Robert J. Segura Stadium and Hanson Memorial’s Dick McCloskey Stadium.
“First and foremost, I think it would be a travesty of justice not to rename the stadium the Carroll Delahoussaye Football Stadium,” Jean-Batiste said. “I’m going to quote an old Gospel song that says ‘Let the work that I’ve done speak for me.’” Jean-Batiste said that Delahoussaye did work not only on the field but impacted the lives of countless players at the school.
“Personally, outside of my father and the men in my life, this is the only man that’s helped me to become the man that I am today, and not only myself but every kid that he’s ever coached,” he said. “It’s not so much about what he’s done on the football field, but what he’s done off the football field that probably most of you do not know.”
Jean-Batiste said that Delahoussaye welcomed players into his home when they needed it, mentioning one player who lived in a home with only his younger brother because his mother was on drugs and his father lived in another town. Delahoussaye bought groceries weekly for the two brothers.
Delahoussaye is one of 59 coaches in Louisiana to have coached teams to 200 high school wins and has the most career wins of any coach in parish history, going 246-92-1 (.727 win percentage), currently 27th most in state history.
“Why can’t we do this for this man while he’s still here?” Jean-Batiste asked.
Willis said he did not play football at SMSH but knows the impact the coach had The Tigers made the playoffs in 26 of his 28 seasons, including 10 trips to the state quarterfinals, six to the state semifinals and three trips to the state championship game. St. Martinville won the Class 3A championship in 1981 and 1984 and finished as runner-up in Class 4A in 1985.
Mike Mowad has the most coaching wins in Breaux Bridge history, going 200-98-0 in 26 seasons there. James Waguespack holds Cecilia’s career win mark at 122-58-0 with a state title in 1995. Waguespack has a 238-158-0 overall career record in 35 years including stops at St. James and Beau Chene.
The request to name the stadium in Delahoussaye’s honor met resistance from school board member Mark Hebert, who said the board had considered such a request before and decided not to name facilities for former coaches.
“Eric Martin (former St. Martinville mayor) came quite a few years ago with the same presentation, and the board decided not to go with it, and the reason being, just like St. Martinville has Coach Delahoussaye … Breaux Bridge has somebody, and Cecilia the same thing,” Hebert said. “The problem we came up with is that if we start naming the Carroll Delahoussaye (Stadium), then everybody’s going to want to name something else and it’s just going to balloon out of control.”
Jean-Batiste said that everything in people’s everyday lives is regulated, so the board should come up with regulations about what criteria should be used to allow a stadium, field or gymnasium to be named after someone.
“I suggest that to limit these occurrences, this board should get together … and make some guidelines,” he said.
Fontenette said that Lafayette Parish allowed Acadiana’s stadium to be named for a coach, so St. Martin Parish could find out what went into that decision.
“Why not research it?” Jean-Batiste said. “We’re taking time out of our lives to honor someone who was a positive influence in not just our lives, in the lives of every player that he’s coached and every kid that he’s come into contact with.”
Hebert also said that the parish is in the middle of a desegregation lawsuit and it might not be good to name a stadium after a white person.
Willis said that St. Martin Parish needs to research what criteria was used in other parishes before rejecting the idea out of hand.
“We’re going to be the last parish all the time to do something, and I don’t understand why we always have to be last before we do something,” Willis said. “As far as desegregation, we’ve got three black people up here asking for this and no white people.”
Board members Russell Foti and Richard Potier said they thought the board should take the idea into consideration and Potier said he would put it on the agenda for the next meeting after the school system staff researches what criteria could be used to name a building or stadium after someone in the community.
Magnet school review
Magnet school/desegregation consultant Sandra Billeaudeau gave an end-ofyear report on the St. Martin Parish STEAM Academy magnet school program, highlighting the growth of the two schools that were started prior to the 2024-25 school year as part of U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Foote’s handling of a longtime desegregation lawsuit for the school board.
The two magnet schools — St. Martin Early STEAM Academy and St. Martin STEAM Academy — opened for the 2024-25 school year. STEAM means the schools focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics.
“The STEAM Magnet Academies hosted a wide range of events and parent engagement opportunities that not only generated excitement but also demonstrated the district’s ongoing commitment to students beyond the court obligations, and rooted in what’s best for children,” Billeaudeau said.
Teacher certification at the schools before opening in 2024 was 87 percent, a requirement by the judge. Those numbers are over 95 percent now at both schools, Billeaudeau said.
“(Judge Foote) wanted to make sure that our schools have a unique and robust curriculum,” she said. “Unique meaning that we teach at a different level, if you will, than the other schools in our parish. It is more rigorous, it is more challenging, and the children are exposed to a plethora of experiences dealing with the arts and STEM education.”
Enrollment in both schools has increased as well, from 303 to 332 at SMESA and from 450 to 492 at SMSA.
The racial breakdown of the schools must be a variance of plus or minus 15 percent of black students to white students as part of the desegregation ruling by the judge. SMESA is currently 62 percent black and 36.1 percent white (13.5 percent difference). SMSA racial breakdown is currently 60.6 percent black and 37 percent black (12.1 percent).
The school performance data also was explained with SMSA first in growth in the district and second in achievement for third grade DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment. SMSA was fifth in the district in second-grade DIBELS assessment.
SMESA was second in achievement and fifth in growth in 1st grade students and fifth in growth and achievement for kindergarten students.
SMESA students had no low scores in math assessment testing and SMSA had 81 percent in the positive/ at grade level or one-grade below math assessments.
The two schools also saw a growth in after-school programs that include such programs as Cajun Zydeco, Culinary arts, Esports, Pep Squad and Science Olympiad. New this year are ceramics/ arts, intermediate choir, advanced choir, cosmetology, heart and soul (yoga/mindfulness), robotics and art.
Other business
The board put off a decision on a contract with LEAN Frog Consulting to help streamline the district’s operations.
The Finance Committee also heard from district CFO Casey Broussard about the scholarship fund, which has provided scholarships for three parish students going into education studies in college.
Broussard said board members had donated to the fund in the past but had paused their donations during a stretch when no students had applied for the scholarships for a few years. After this year, no scholarships will be offered unless board members opt to donate monthly to replenish the scholarship fund, Broussard said. Board members had voluntarily donated $50 a month to the fund in the past. Potier was one of the few board members who continued giving to the fund while the scholarships were not being awarded.
The board approved its consent agenda, including approving a Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Henderson and the school board; approving revision to the forms used for students who need crisis mental health assessments; approval of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Extra Mile and the school board; approving a proclamation designating Oct. 26-31 as Red Ribbon Week; and approving payment for Cecilia Junior High’s assistant PE/coaches for summer training.
The mental health assessments are given to students who threaten to harm themselves or others, and the change was needed in order to allow St. Martin Hospital doctors to fill out the forms required by the school system but in compliance with federal HIPAA laws.