By JESSICA DAIGLE

Staff Reporter

RESERVE — After months of public outbursts, tense negotiations, back and forth decisions, closed door meetings, and bickering among the board, Superintendent of Schools for St. John the Baptist Parish Michael Coburn has finally been granted a three-year contract by the board.

At the school board meeting Thursday, Board Member Dowie Gendron motioned to waive policy to allow the board to vote on Coburn’s contract.

Board policy states that the board has to wait 60 days before voting again on a measure that has failed. On April 28, the board voted against approving a contract extension for Coburn, but Coburn’s contract expires on June 30.

Rules also call for a two-thirds vote to waive policy, which in this board’s case would be eight of the 11 members.

Past attempts to waive policy have failed due to several board members who have held firm in their opposition to Coburn.

However, on Thursday night, of those board members- Keith Jones, Clarence Triche, Matthew Ory, and Russell Jack- it was only Jack who voted against waiving policy.

In a substitute motion, the four voted to offer Coburn a contract lasting only one year, from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. That motion failed and the three-year contract was voted in.

After the vote, Gendron joked that in all his years on the board, this was the easiest contract renewal he had ever experienced.

The state of Coburn’s contract had been at a stall for months, since a meeting on March 31 when the board voted 8-3 to allow the executive committee to go into negotiations with Coburn, prompting most to believe that Coburn would be serving as superintendent for another three years.

However, in later meetings, surprise votes and unexpected twists hindered the situation.

At a special meeting held to discuss the contract, Board Member Russ Wise arrived late, missing a crucial vote that would have possibly granted Coburn the contract then, and causing Wise to consider resignation from the board.

After the vote granting Coburn his contract, Jack asked the superintendent to think about the concerns he has brought to him in the past.

“I opposed you, and it’s over now,” Jack said, “I had good reason, and I stand firm in what I believe, but it’s over now.”

Board Vice-President Patrick Sanders, who has voted against Coburn in the past, congratulated him after the vote, but also addressed his concerns.

“We have some serious problems in this district, and some serious concerns about vindictiveness,” Sanders said, “If that exists in you, please eradicate that tonight.”

After the vote, Triche motioned to replace Board President Gerald Keller with Ory, but that vote failed, with only Jack, Ory and Triche voting for it, with Jones passing on the vote and Philip Johnson abstaining.

Asked after the meeting about the motion, Triche said he thinks Keller is a “good president,” but he and a couple of other members had concerns.

“We want someone to look over the superintendent’s shoulder more closely, and he has slipped from that a few times.” Triche said, “We want someone to make sure (Coburn) does it legally.”

During the meeting, Triche asked Coburn to stop being an “Adolph Hitler,” and to “talk to your people and ask what needs to be done.”

Coburn said he is “breathing a big sigh of relief.”

“It’s been a long six months for me, and for my family,” Coburn said, “I’m glad it’s over.”

“I will work to the best of my abilities, and we will move forward- whatever it takes.”