ST. GEORGE — After the failure of an amendment that would have created a breakaway school district for the newly created St. George, Mayor Dustin Yates is still positive about his city's future.

"Just because one door closes doesn't mean another won't open at some point," Yates said about the failure of Amendment 2, which was one of five amendments voters shot down over the weekend. 

The amendment received 70% no votes in East Baton Rouge Parish alone. Statewide, 69% opposed it.

"It is difficult when you're trying to do something parish-wide when it has a potential benefit for one area of the parish," Yates said during a Monday morning visit to 2une In. 

Opponents of the amendment expressed concerns that the separation of St. George schools was not a solution for ongoing problems in both communities, with one opponent saying that they didn't think "the solution to a broken school system is to further break apart."

Critics were also concerned that the creation of a St. George school district would have siphoned funds from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, further exacerbating issues.

Yates pushed back on this narrative. 

"It wasn't about taking anything from the EBR system; it was about keeping our local tax dollars home to be able to educate our kids," Yates said. 

The mayor added that he saw the priority for the school district as one of resource allocation. 

"It has nothing to do with money, it has nothing to do with demographics," Yates said. "It has to do with allocating resources and prioritizing the needs of a smaller system."