ROSELAND - The Tangipahoa Parish School Board filed a lawsuit against the town of Roseland and its mayor over a parking lot that is now the site of construction for a new community center.

With school starting in just over a week, the school board is asking a judge to order the fencing surrounding the work zone to be removed and construction halted.

The land sits across the street from Roseland Montessori School. The town donated half the property to the school system more than a century ago and leased the other half to the schools from 2005 through 2030. The land has been used as a parking lot for Roseland Montessori faculty and staff members.

The town exercised a reversion clause in the 1910 deed and began building the community center on the land, which prompted the lawsuit. Because the property was being used as a parking lot, it no longer served an educational purpose as originally intended when the land was donated, so Roseland exercised the clause. The school board argues in the lawsuit that parking is a school purpose.

Some residents welcome the new community center, but Chester Pritchett, a former Roseland mayor and councilman, said the location is a big problem.

"It's good they're going to have a community center, but where they put it is totally out of the question," he said.

Pritchett said the town had other options to build the community center, which is funded through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

According to the lawsuit, the town first approached the school board about the community center in June 2025, but the two sides never reached an agreement over the past year.

Mayor Van Showers, who is named in the lawsuit, would not comment on the litigation. School system president Trent Anthony said he expects an amicable resolution soon.

The first hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 3.