By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / November 30, 1998

LAPLACE – St. John Parish School Board member Matt Ory received the1998 Louisiana Association of Educators “Friend of Education” award, a statewide honor rarely presented to school board members.

The presentation was made Nov. 22 during the opening session of the LAEannual conference held in Shreveport.

“I didn’t realize what it was until I was on the stage,” Ory commented afterward. “I had tears in my eyes. They said it was remarkable for aschool board member to get that award.”Members of the St. John Association of Educators met to discuss majorchanges in Louisiana public schools, focusing on the organization’s 1999 legislative agenda, including employee salary increases, increased investment in school technology, purchases of instructional material and guaranteed funding for the TOPS scholarship program.

Local members attending included Herman Clayton Jr., Vondel Sylvan,Barbara Knight, Gail Creecy and Anthony Reynard.

Clayton commented, “As school employees, we are on the front line of education reform in this state.”One of the primary focuses of the convention was school safety, on which Clayton added, “Our children can’t learn if their classrooms are not secure.”The LAE’s 400-member Representative Assembly debates and votes on education-related issues and sets policy for the organization. LouisianaAttorney General Richard Ieyoub also addressed the convention.

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