By MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / January 13, 1999

RESERVE – The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board opened the newyear Thursday by welcoming two new members.

Patrick Sanders of District 4 and John Crose of District 11 were sworn in with the rest of the board. Sanders and Crose defeated incumbents AleithaBardell and Russ Wise, respectively, in the November elections.

The board also elected its officers for the next four years. District 8board member Richard DeLong was re-elected president by a 6-1 vote with three members abstaining. DeLong was the only member nominated for thepost. District 6 board member Charles Watkins was returned as vice-president, getting six votes to three for District 10 board member Matt Ory.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” DeLong said. “We need to worktogether as a board and not have agendas that split the board.”Some of the board members thought positions would rotate around the board members. Ory made a recommendation that board positions bechanged and rotated every two years.

“Board members should be able to fulfill any duty because we have been entrusted by the public to do that, and I believe anyone of us could,” Ory said.

Watkins also said he agreed the positions should be changed, but every four years instead of two.

District 5 board member Dowie Gendron disagreed with having a mandatory two-year term, saying board members can vote to change the positions at any time if they are dissatisfied with the direction the board is going.

“I believe if something is going good, why change it,” Gendron said.

DeLong agreed, pointing out that to change procedure it takes a two-thirds vote of the board while it only takes a simple majority to change officers.

The board voted to table the motion to have the positions rotated after two years.

Another issue that will be brought up at a later date is whether school board members should be paid. Ory put the item on the agenda Thursday forinformational purposes, giving information from the National and Louisiana school board associations and the National and Louisiana associations of education.

School board members in St. John Parish make $800 annually while theboard president earns $900. Ory pointed out that St. John Parish is one ofonly 18 districts in the state that have chosen to give themselves the maximum salary allowed by state law. Ory also noted that Louisiana is oneof 32 states to receive some form of compensation and that the St. JohnParish School Board receives more than twice the national average when benefits and expenses are figured in.

Ory pointed out that the change cannot take effect under the current term under state law and would not take place until 2003.

“I have talked to many people this week and received many calls,” Ory said. “Every comment was extremely positive or they were notknowledgeable about how much school board members make.”Gendron disagreed, saying he does not believe anybody works for nothing.

He pointed out that he was voted to the board in 1989, receiving 75 percent of the vote against an incumbent who had pledged to donate his salary.

Crose said the only way to change the policy is to have it go before the Louisiana Legislature and have it put the issue before the voters of St.

John Parish. But District 2 member Felix LeBouef said it is an issue thatshould be put to rest.

“I am tired of it coming up,” LeBouef said, addressing Ory. “Why not leaveit alone? I am not addressing you as a member, I am addressing you as a man. Leave it alone. I feel I am not getting anything for nothing. I am doingwhat I am supposed to be doing.”

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