SLS 25RS-260 ORIGINAL
2025 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 15
BY SENATORS PRESSLY AND JENKINS
COMMENDATIONS. Commends and congratulates C.E. Byrd High School as it celebrates
its centennial year.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To commend and congratulate C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, as it
3 celebrates its centennial year.
4 WHEREAS, a Virginia native and lawyer who left the bar for a profession in
5 education, Clifton Ellis Byrd, traveled to accept a principalship in Monroe, Louisiana in
6 1889 but left that position in 1892 to become principal of the first public high school in
7 Shreveport, Louisiana, and assisted in the establishment of the Caddo Parish School Board;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, after a one year interruption to accept the presidency at Louisiana Tech
10 University, then known as Louisiana Industrial Institute, "Professor Byrd" returned in 1907
11 to become Superintendent of the Caddo Parish Public School System until his passing in
12 1926; and
13 WHEREAS, in 1923 the Caddo Parish School Board purchased a twenty-acre cow
14 pasture two miles south of Shreveport from James Gras for $110,000 with additional lots for
15 $9,500 to build a new high school awarding a $772,133 contract to the Stewart-McGee
16 Construction Company to replace the closed Hope Street School with a new facility in honor
17 of Superintendent and Professor Clifton Ellis "Cliff" Byrd to be named C.E. Byrd High
18 School; and
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SLS 25RS-260 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, on October 25, 1925, Principal Grover C. Koffman opened Shreveport's
2 newest high school in a dedication ceremony held in the 2,000 seat auditorium; and
3 WHEREAS, for the next fifty years under the leadership and guidance of Principal
4 Koffman and Principal J. H. Duncan, Byrd High School, during its "golden era of pristine
5 glory", became a nationally recognized model for classical academic education and superior
6 athletic achievement led by an extraordinary staff of faculty and coaches; and
7 WHEREAS, the legacy of Principals Koffman and Duncan continued through the
8 years under the guidance of former Caddo Parish School Board member and president, state
9 representative, and state senator Principal Dr. B. L. "Buddy" Shaw; interim Principal Jewell
10 Wagner; Principal R. Lynne Fitzgerald; Principal Richard L. Lavergne; continuing to this
11 day under the stewardship of Principal Gerald "Jerry" Badgley; and
12 WHEREAS, over the years Byrd High School experienced the national cultural
13 trends and struggles confronting most urban areas, including "crossover day" in the spring
14 of 1970 when the black Valencia High School merged with the white C. E. Byrd and the
15 tumultuous years leading to the announcement on May 23, 1982, that due to the prohibitive
16 cost to repair a declining building, decrease in enrollment to less than 800 students, and lack
17 of community confidence in its academic standards, C. E. Byrd High School would close the
18 next year; and
19 WHEREAS, committed to a plan to move Caddo Magnet High School, the Caddo
20 Parish School Board responding to community and student efforts seeking a reprieve, the
21 Board approved a multi-million dollar electrical and mechanical renovation, with skeptical
22 approval for the opening of a C. E. Byrd Math Science Magnet Program; and
23 WHEREAS, in the fall of 1984, with fewer than 800 neighborhood students and 52
24 students in the new Math Science Magnet Program, Principal B. L. Shaw hired two
25 exceptional teachers, long time Byrd administrator and graduate, Jerry Malone, a counselor
26 and a secretary to implement the program as well as R. Lynne Fitzgerald from Magnet High
27 School to guide the neighborhood program; and
28 WHEREAS, unwilling to let closure become a reality, the loyal alumni of Byrd, a
29 determined contingent, many of whom were alumni and an exceptional student body, staff
30 and faculty, went to work to "save" Byrd; and
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SLS 25RS-260 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, during the next seventeen years, Byrd began a remarkable "Byrd is
2 Back" story that included building the largest group of high school alumni in the country;
3 creating the world's largest JROTC program; hosting the largest high school "Ultimate
4 Reunion" attended by 6,000 graduates and families; generating the second largest enrollment
5 of a Louisiana high school; and bringing back winning athletic tradition of state
6 championships and competitive academic championships excellence; and
7 WHEREAS, on the eve of the Second Ultimate Reunion in February, 1997, only
8 fifteen years after the board proposed to close Byrd, Byrd graduate and Principal, R. Lynne
9 Fitzgerald, stood in the White House Rose Garden proudly representing the thousands who
10 loved and worked tirelessly for Byrd's "comeback" to hear the name of C. E. Byrd High
11 School called as one of the 100 public high schools in the United States to be recognized as
12 a "National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence". Byrd Was Back!; and
13 WHEREAS, Principal Jerry Badgley has played a pivotal role in the growth and
14 transformation of Byrd High School fostering significant advancements in school curriculum
15 as a result of his leadership and guidance, including a new football practice field and
16 enhanced facilities; and
17 WHEREAS, Principal Badgley's efforts have highlighted the impact of school
18 leaders in the community, whose alumni include current state senators, Thomas A. Pressly
19 and Sam L. Jenkins Jr.; former state legislators including Senator Virginia Kilpatrick
20 Shehee; Senator Phil Short; Senator and Judge Robert Kostelka; former state representatives
21 Art Sour, Frank Fulco, and James C. Gardner; United States Senator J. Bennett Johnston Jr.;
22 Saxby Chambliss, United States Senator from Georgia; John Howard Dalton, former United
23 States Secretary of the Navy; Brandon Friedman, former deputy assistant secretary of the
24 United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; Tom Jarriel, ABC News
25 journalist; and many other outstanding public servants including United States District Judge
26 Tom Stagg, United States Circuit Court Judge, Jacques L. Wiener Jr., and Louisiana
27 Supreme Court Justices, Jeffrey P. Victory and Pike Hall Jr.; and
28 WHEREAS, in 1991 the eight-acre area comprising the school buildings and other
29 structures were added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing one of the few
30 examples of Jacobean Revival architecture; and
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SLS 25RS-260 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, C.E. Byrd High School will celebrate its 100th graduating class, June
2 5th through 7th, 2025, culminating the "Ultimate Reunion" on June 7th.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
4 commend and congratulate the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of C.E. Byrd High School
5 as they celebrate the school's centennial year.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to C.E.
7 Byrd High School Principal, Gerald "Jerry" Badgley.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Senate Legislative Services.
The keyword, summary, and digest do not constitute part of the law or proof
or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
DIGEST
SCR 15 Original 2025 Regular Session Pressly
Commends and congratulates Shreveport's C.E. Byrd High School as it celebrates its
centennial year.
Provides that a copy of the Resolution be transmitted to C.E. Byrd High School Principal
Gerald "Jerry" Badgley.
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