By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

RESERVE – The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board convened in a special meeting Tuesday evening to discuss issues at East St. John High School.
Executive Director of Business and Finance for the St. John School District Felix Boughton stepped to the podium and requested that the board authorize the use of bond proceeds from 2012 and the most recent bond issue to repair East St. John High School and proceed with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s process for appeals.
According to Boughton, the district has acquired roughly $20 million in bond proceeds, and it would take about $17 million to repair East St. John. Boughton said that using the money this way would give the district the greatest chance of being back in the school within a year from the upcoming fall semester.
Board members were concerned that funding for Lake Pontchartrain Elementary might become secondary in the process of using the money. Boughton reassured the board, saying that money from the Community Block Grant would likely be committed to the school’s rebuilding. Plans to construct a temporary campus are also in the works.  
“I can assure you that we’re going to fight for the funding for Lake Pontchartrain Elementary just like we did for East St. John. If we have to go after another bond issue, that’s what we’ll do. We’re not forgetting about Lake Pontchartrain Elementary. Right now, we’re trying to get East St. John ready for fall of 2013 and get the temporary campus for Lake Pontchartrain Elementary ready for 2013. That’s our two priorities right now,” said Boughton.
Board members were also concerned about the wisdom of taking such a large portion of the money and putting it into one school. Board member Keith Jones requested the counsel of the board’s legal advisor, Orenthal Jasmin, who in turn said that he could not offer advice on the matter and that it would be more suited for the firm involved in the building.
Board member Rodney Nicholas recommended that the board table the issue until the next meeting. Nicholas was concerned that a lack of action on the issue would futher delay getting the children of the district back into school.
Frank Lacourse of CSRS explained that it would not affect the children because his company was already at 95 percent completion with the designs for the school. Lacourse also said the request for authorization was mainly for his company to finish the design process and begin advertisement for it. The board would be free to halt the process should they decide on a different direction.
The matter was tabled until the June 3 meeting.
Superintendent Her-bert Smith noted that parents and students of East St. John High were present in the audience and invited them to comment or ask questions regarding the vandalism that took place in the school recently and the subsequent disciplinary measures.
According to those involved in the matter, students who took part in the vandalism were forced to pay $420 of restitution money or risk not marching at their graduation. The students were also required to complete 16 hours of community service by cleaning up the mess.
A student from the school said the report cards she received listed five days of out-of-school suspension related to the vandalism, which was supposed to be removed after restitution was paid. A concerned parent also came to the podium to say that she didn’t know what she was paying for because she had never received an itemized price list for the damages. She said she was told that if more students came forward, a refund would be issued but was concerned because this language was not present in the contract drawn up between the district and students.
Smith reassured the student that the absentee days would be removed from the report card. He went on to say that the district would send out an itemized list of damages eventually but could not give an exact date. Smith said the district was acting in good faith by estimating the total amount of damages at $10,000, but the amount could go up to $20,000 should it turn out that a Promethean electronic whiteboard had been damaged. Smith asked the parent to be patient with them and said those involved would be refunded if they overpaid.
The concerned parent said that this refunding process was also not present in the contract. Smith replied that
she should take him at his word and that he would issue itemized receipts and refunds in the event that anyone overpaid.