DANIEL TYLER GOODEN

ST. JAMES – The St. James Parish School System is one step closer to getting new school buses for the next school year. At its Tuesday meeting held at the Fifth Ward Elementary School, the school board voted to authorize Superintendent Edward Cancienne to enter into contract negotiations with Laidlaw, one of the country’s largest transportation contractors. George Horne, an independent contractor hired to help find the best transportation solution for the board, dissected Laidlaw’s proposal. Horne, after explaining what the Laidlaw’s proposal would cost over the next five years and itemizing what the school board would pay without the Laidlaw contract, showed that $522,534 would buy 30 new buses over five years. Laidlaw will provide 22 new buses in the first year and eight more in the next two years. The company will also provide repairs and upkeep on the whole St. James Parish school bus fleet as well as computerized tracking of repair and maintenance and emergency towing and road work repairs. The buses would continue to be driven by St. James Parish school employees. The school board would pay for the utilities and insurance for the maintenance facility, bus insurance, fuel and any bus damage from driver negligence, said Horne. Board member Lloyd LeBlanc requested that the board be involved in the contract negotiation and not just the voting for the contract. The board unanimously voted to start the negotiations. In another matter, a teacher recommended for hiring at Lutcher Elementary was not even voted upon and subsequently not hired for the Title I position. The teacher was also recommended for approval in her resignation from Romeville Elementary in the same updated personnel list. The school board took the list line by line, voting to allow the teacher’s resignation. There was a motion made for her hiring, but no second, thus negating her possibility for employment. After the agenda item was finished board member George Nassar explained that the teacher had worked at Romeville Elementary for two days before she quit. School board policy states that teachers must work for three years at their school before they can transfer. “We can’t allow a first-year teacher to dictate to us where they can work,” said Nassar. Administrative Director Millie Matherne stated that the teacher’s name had been included in a list of teachers given to the interviewing Lutcher Elementary principal. The former Romeville teacher was picked out of those qualified employees for employment, said Matherne. Helping build a more stable teacher base at Romeville has left some holes in the system, said Cancienne. The recommendation to hire the prior Romeville teacher was not meant to be snuck by anyone, he added. In other news, the school board upheld a superintendent’s disciplinary hearing case. Also the board voted to allow Rachael Schexnaydre and six students from her St. James High School Prostart Culinary Arts class to travel to Providence R.I. The group will visit the Johnson and Wales campus, one of the top culinary schools in the country. The students have made money for the trip with fund-raisers, one of which is cooking meals for teachers on Fridays. The remainder of the Rhode Island trip will be paid for by the students.