School Board decides much discussed issues on close votes

Two issues --  meeting times and hiring central office staff-- were decided on split votes at the St. Landry Parish School Board meeting Monday. 
The proposal to change the board’s committee times from 4 to 1 p.m. came from the executive committee.
On an 8-5 vote, the committee meetings will continue to start at 4 p.m.
Eunice areas board members were divided on the proposal with Roger Young supporting a new time and board members Mary Ellen Donatto and Albert Hayes Jr. opposing an earlier time. 
Starting meetings at 1 or 3 p.m. “makes our board meeting more exclusive and more elusive” to the public, Hayes said. 
Hayes said a 5:30 p.m. meeting time would allow more parents and interested people to attend meetings. 
Young said, “While this is a meeting that is open to the public it really is intended for discussion of issues pertaining to our school system and teachers.”
A committee meeting is “strictly a School Board member meeting to discuss issues.”
Young said it is in the best interest of the school system that the most members possible attend the committee meetings. 
Donatto said any time before 5:30 p.m. restricts the public’s ability to attend board meetings. 
“Regardless of meager attendance by the public, I think that the more transparent we are, the clearer we are with the general public, we can reduce some suspicion,” she said. 
Donatto said there are at least four board members who would be unable to attend meetings at 1 or 3 p.m.
Randy Wagley, a board member from Opelousas, said committee meetings should be moved to a week different than the full board meeting. 
The board voted on motion by Kyle Boss, Sunset area member, and seconded by Young, to hold all committee meeting on the same day and begin at 3 p.m. Voting to keep the 4 p.m. meeting time by tabling any action were Charles Ross, Milton Ambres, Randy Wagley, Hazel Sias, Albert Hayes, Mary Ellen Donatto, Anthony Standberry and Raymond Cassimere.
Voting for a meeting time change were Candy Gerace, Donnie Perron, Huey Wyble, Kyle Boss and Roger Young.
On a 7-6 vote, the board approved a personnel committee recommendation to fill four open positions, but not before some board members said central office jobs were being filled at the expense of other employees. 
The job openings are athletic director/head football coach at Opelousas High School; special education instructional specialist at the Pupil Appraisal Center; Title 1 paraprofessional at Port Barre Elementary; and accountant at the central office. 
Milton Ambres, an Opelousas board member, said the district needs maintenance workers before accountants. 
“We had six accountants before this,” he said. “We had six, 10, 12 people in maintenance. We have none of those back. That’s why all the schools are falling down, because we don’t have people in place to fix them.”
Superintendent Edward Brown said most maintenance work is now done by contract. 
An accountant is needed because an existing accountant is working overtime and there is a person on sick leave. 
Ambres said, “We have some places now where there is no teacher in the classroom. It is a substitute teacher in the classroom because we don’t pay enough. Everybody around us is paying more than us.”
Donatto said the issue is about the open positions and Donnie Perron, a Port Barre board member, said, “These positions are needed immediately.”
Voting to advertise the jobs were Boss, Donatto, Young, Gerace, Perron, Wyble and Wagley.
Voting against the staffing move were Ross, Cassimere, Sais, Hayes, Ambres and Standberry. 
In the superintendent’s message, Brown said a document is circulating in the Eunice area stating the parish is opting out of the testing related to Common Core. 
“As far as I’m concerned St. Landry Parish is opting in, not opting out,” Brown said. “I believe in any situation you need to work through rather than going around.”
No requests to opt of the testing have been received by the school system, he said.