By David Vitrano
L’Observateur

EDGARD – The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board opted for a change in leadership at its first meeting of 2013.
Although Patrick Sanders, who served as board president for the previous two years, was initially nominated by Rodney Nicholas, a second nomination by Gerald Keller for Clarence Triche was made.
Ultimately, Triche won the seat by a vote of 6-5. Triche had served as vice president of the school board under Sanders.
The change in leadership did not sit well with some members of the board who thought Triche might not be as open to hearing their thoughts, complaints and ideas as Sanders had.
“To me, (Sanders) brought some cohesiveness to this board,” said board member Russell Jack. “Mr. Triche, I hope you’re not going to bring more divisiveness to this board.”
Sanders, for his part, was gracious as he passed the gavel to Triche.
“I will continue to contribute my best to this school system,” said Sanders.
The board also selected Keith Jones as its new vice president. Although Albert Burl originally also nominated Nicholas for the post, he withdrew the nomination, so Jones was unopposed for the office.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, which was held at West St. John Elementary School in Edgard, the board agreed to advertise for bids for both a property insurance provider and a grounds maintenance firm. Although both contracts are set to expire March 31, the system has been without a grounds maintenance team since the contractor walked away from the job in the fall.
The board also accepted a bid for repair work at the East St. John High softball and baseball field.
Lastly, Interim Superintendent Herbert Smith announced that students at East St. John High will be returning to a normal, full-day schedule starting Monday. Since Hurricane Isaac flooded their home campus, students had been attending classes in shifts because the temporary campus was not equipped to handle the entire student population at once.
Work completed over the winter break, however, enabled the school to return to a normal schedule.
“Everyone is excited to get back to normal,” said Smith.
A full schedule of bell times for each individual school is available on the district’s website at stjohn.k12.la.us.