After weeks of delays and uncertainty surrounding the completion of the new Caneview Elementary School, Iberia Parish school officials announced plans to open the school Dec. 1 after students return from the Thanksgiving break.

The school originally was slated for completion in July, and Iberia Parish Superintendent Dale Henderson said after Wednesday’s School Board meeting that “maybe a week” of the delays is attributable to the hurricanes that swept through the Teche Area last month.

“First it was July, then it was September, then it was the Sugar Cane Festival,” Henderson said. “This is it.”

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But while a few board members mentioned the possibility of penalizing the general contractor, M.D. Descant Inc., for the delays, Henderson stopped short of calling for any fines.

“That gets a little more complicated because of the change orders we’ve had,” Henderson said.

Alton Darby of Darby Architects, the supervisor of the project, assured the board the contractor could complete the work on time.

“They absolutely can finish this before this date,” Darby said. “But as far as I’m concerned, it should have been done by now. I think you’ve been very generous in giving them these extra days.”

Board member Blaine Meche said he believed the contractor had “spread itself too thin” in the various projects it is undertaking around town, including two other schools under construction.

Don Descant, president of M.D. Descant, said in a telephone interview the other two schools he is building for the district — North Lewis Elementary and Park Elementary — are on schedule and had “nothing to do” with the delays at Caneview.

“We’ve had two hurricanes and plenty of change orders,” he said, adding the school would “most definitely” be ready in early November.

The board is planning to hold a meeting Nov. 19 at the school to accept its completion. Students from Peebles Elementary and Grand Marais Elementary are scheduled to begin school at Caneview Dec. 1. Henderson said students would have ideally made the switch following the summer vacation, instead of in the middle of a school year.

“But we’ve done it in the past, and we don’t want that school just sitting there unoccupied,” he added.

In other business Wednesday, six schools were recognized for sustained academic growth. Representatives from Delcambre High School, Dodson Elementary and Magnolia Elementary received flags and certificates for meeting their academic growth targets. Delcambre Elementary, St. Charles/Canal Elementary and Sugarland Elementary were honored for exemplary academic growth and surpassing their targets.

“After 10 years in the accountability model it becomes ever-increasingly difficult to sustain improvement,” Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Carey Laviolette said. “They should be commended for the team effort.”