Jeff Davis Parish School District is holding its breath as more than six million dollars lay in voters hands for a tax renewal that could deeply impact the school district.

Superintendent, Kirk Credeur says:  “The tax brings in 6.8 [million dollars]. To keep our doors open every day costs about 5.1 to 5.5 million dollars. You start to see the importance of this tax to our school district.”

Together, the sales tax and millage help fund the district’s budget.

Credeur, says the renewal is critical for the future of the district.

He tells News 10 that without the money, major cuts would have to take place, and a lot of people could lose their jobs,

“So then if you put it in that kind of perspective, can we afford to just tell 110 teachers, you know, ‘Sorry you’re gonna have to go’? You can’t. Because it would be difficult offering the required classes at a high school level for students to be able to graduate when you have to cut that many teachers and lose that many teachers,” Credeur says.

The tax money is normally used to cover costs for food, fuel, utilities, and more.

Without it, Credeur says the school system would see cuts to things like extracurricular activities and staffing to pay for necessary expenses.

“It would be very detrimental to our operation of the school system. We would have to look at significantly, you know, radical ways to try to save money,” He adds.