Breakaway districts have mixed success in East Baton Rouge Parish, La.

From The Baton Rouge Advocate: The splintering of the East Baton Rouge Parish (La.) school district has sparked notable changes financially, academically and demographically. Since the parish started fracturing into multiple systems six years ago, two of the new districts, Zachary and Central, quickly moved into the top levels of state rankings, becoming engines for growth in those communities. The Baker district, on the other hand, has struggled with low test scores, an increasingly impoverished student body and political infighting. The balkanization is not necessarily over. Speculation continues that other communities in Baton Rouge will break away from the East Baton Rouge system.