72 Sci-Port employees to lose jobs in management change

Grace Gardner said she felt blindsided by the announcement that Sci-Port was to close temporarily as a new management group takes over and that all employees would lose their jobs.

"We knew things were tense," Gardner said Thursday. "We can tell when things are not going quite to plan, but I mean we had no idea that it would be closing and that we would be out of our jobs."

Gardner was among Sci-Port's 72 employees who learned Wednesday that their jobs will be eliminated as the non-profit organization turns over management of the center to Planet Aqua Group, developer of the soon-to-open Shreveport Aquarium.

Sci-Port has faced financial difficulties recently, according to state audits. Its president and CEO left in July.

MORE: Sci-Port, short of cash, gets a lifeline from aquarium

Sci-Port board members announced the management change during a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the science center.

At the same time, Dare Johnson, chairman of Sci-Port's board, was meeting with employees to deliver news that their jobs would be eliminated, said Jake Wood, spokesperson for the Shreveport Aquarium.

Also attending was Elizabeth Comegys, a Sci-Port board member who served as interim CEO.

The employee meeting was held at the Remington Suite Hotel and Spa downtown.

“Everyone went silent,” said Paige Granberry, Sci-Port's revenue programs coordinator. “Some people were angry and you could tell. There were a lot of questions, and they were mostly all answered with ‘there is a new plan set in place for that.’"

Sci-Port is to close Sept. 4, and employees will work through Sept. 5. The center, including the Power of Play Children's Museum, will remain closed until the end of the year for renovations. The IMAX theater at Sci-Port will remain open.

Wood, the aquarium spokesperson, said a job fair for all the positions at Sci-Port is planned for November.

"The employment structure will be revitalized," he said. "We'll be adding positions, removing positions and merging positions. Everything in the facility from the top down is getting a good hard look."

Wood said he wasn't aware of plans to help the former employees find new jobs, but said he wanted to make sure they had ample time to start job searches. Former employees are welcome to apply for positions at Planet Aqua's job fair.

But there is no guarantee that former employees will get a job, Gardner said.

For Granberry, that might mean she won't apply for a position.

"To be honest, I am not sure," Granberry said in a Facebook message. "I love Sci-Port more than anything in the world. I hope when it comes back, it is bigger and better than ever, but I think and hope that this new management system will be the best thing for Sci-Port.

"I worked my way up to my position so hopefully if I did apply again, I would get back the job I worked so hard for."

Gardner, a 19-year-old BPCC student who had worked at Sci-Port as a floor staff demonstrator since December 2016, was in class and unable to attend the meeting.

Two to three days before, she said, employees got an email informing full-time employees that they must attend the meeting.

"We found out the same day as everyone else did that we wouldn't have a job," she said.

When Gardner learned that she wouldn't have a job, she said, she couldn't believe it. She expected change, but not this.

"The first question I asked is, 'you're kidding me, right?'" she said. "I was pretty upset. I went home. I hugged my mom, and I cried. I loved my job."

Gardner said she thinks Planet Aqua Group will make positive changes. She said she will continue working at the science center until it closes, despite the surprise.

The impact, she said, is felt more strongly by her co-workers.