By KERI CHAMPION

Staff Reporter

RESERVE- A surprise motion by one school board member to help tackle the truancy problem may bring change to the retail sector in St. John Parish.

Board member Albert Burl, III took the room by surprise when he proposed that the school board have attorneys draft an ordinance that would prohibit retail companies from selling items to school age children during school hours.

&#8220I saw a couple of kids on their bicycles one day when I was driving around town and they looked like they were going to the store to buy something, so I stopped and asked them what they were doing out of school. Then I went to the truancy meeting and saw there was a problem in the parish, so I wanted to do something. I just don’t think it’s right that some kids are out of school enjoying life when others have to be in,” Burl said.

The motion was seconded by board member Wise and passed 10-0 with board member Dowie Gendron absent.

The parents present at the meeting seemed to agree when the floor opened for public participation saying they thought it might be a good idea.

&#8220Obviously the proposed ordinance would require further discussion and considerations for legality before being written and presented, but it will be discussed at future meetings,” Burl said.

In other business, the board voted to approve the new insurance coverage plan with some reservations about the high cost of insurance since Hurricane Katrina.

&#8220The board will pay $636,000 for six months and another $350,000 in addition to that. The coverage would include up to $12.5 million dollars for a named windstorm such as a hurricane, but it will not fully cover all our properties which together total about $122 million,” said Felix Boughton, comptroller for St. John School Board..

&#8220This is the first year that we have had limits on our coverage. We never had that before, and we also didn’t have windstorm coverage before, but the insurance companies feel we are high risk now so we are paying all this money. Last year our premium payments totaled $133,000,” Boughton said.

Had the board chosen not to take out the additional windstorm coverage, if we had another hurricane we would not have been covered at all for the damages,” Boughton said.

&#8220The fact that we are paying so much more for property insurance when we sustained little damage is almost equal to extortion in my eyes,” said board member Wise.

Councilman Steve Lee was present at the meeting said that when the premium is annualized the payments were not much more than before, but the school board disagreed.

&#8220The way I see it, we are still paying way more in cash than we were before for in insurance,” Boughton said.