By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – In sharp contrast to previous years, the proposed budget for the St. John the Baptist Parish School System for the 2012-13 fiscal year sailed through the approval save for one minor sticking point.

Because of a restoration of some of the state funding that had been absent for the past few years, district administration was able to restore some of the cuts that had been made in previous years. One of these was a restoration of $65,000 in athletic allotments at the district’s two high schools. The allotments were slashed last year as a cost-saving measure.

At least one board member, however, saw a better use for the money.

“In regard to the athletic allotment, we managed quite well in athletics this year,” said Russ Wise, who moved the money would be better spent nurturing a music program in the parish.

Wise noted the band director at West St. John High School already spends a majority of his time at West St. John Elementary School in an effort to stoke musical interest in younger students who will hopefully carry that interest with them to high school. Wise added that it is difficult to have a successful high school band program without feeder programs at the elementary school level.

Mimicking an argument used in opposition to the slashing of the athletic allotments last year, Wise said, “We could also be sending kids to college on music scholarships. We have to give them the chance.”

Other board members, however, did not want to allocate the money for a band program when interest is not yet known.

“We have no idea of the numbers,” said board member Keith Jones. “We’re shooting from the hip.”

“I’d like to see a plan in place before we start giving out money,” added board member Gerald Keller.

Ultimately, the School Board decided to pass the budget as is with the exception of the $65,000 in question. Where that money will go will be decided after further study is done on the matter.

Also Thursday attorney Bob Hammonds explained some aspects of the recently passed Act I of the Louisiana Legislature, also known as the tenure bill, to board members and others in attendance at the meeting.

He went over portions, some of which seem contradictory, regarding teacher assessment as well as the hiring and firing guidelines for the district.

“It’s going to be very complicated,” he said.

He said this one act may require upward of 20 new policies on the local level. He also noted the act itself repealed 20 statutes already on the books.

He went on to explain some of the problems he sees with the way districts are to set up salary schedules, noting that the wording of the law could increase payroll costs.

Lastly he explained the changes to tenure, noting that any teacher who has tenure by Sept. 1 will be grandfathered in but those who do not will have be in the top 10 percent of district teachers for five out of six years. Hammonds said he expects this hurdle to have the effect of reducing the number of people who want to go into the field of education.

Lawsuits have already been filed against the act, citing that it has more than one primary focus, which goes against the Louisiana Constitution.