By LEONARD GRAY

LULING – More construction from the $28 million bond issue approved by St. Charles Parish voters will be evident in a matter of months, with bid advertisements going out for the new Luling Elementary expansion and office renovations at J.B. Martin Middle School.

Bids were also accepted for expansion of the distribution center and, in the recently released annual report, the construction work at Norco Elementary School’s expansion and phase two of St. Rose Elementary School will get underway. Construction of the new Raymond K. Smith Middle School is anticipated to get underway by September 2003.

The budget for the new Luling Elementary classroom wing is $3.7 million and for the J.B. Martin work is $70,000. Architectural plans and specifications by Paul Murray on both projects are ready for review by contractors and approved by project managers Carothers Construction Inc.

The St. Charles Parish School Board recently accepted a bid of $418,900 from Lamar Contractors Inc. for expansion of the distribution center, out of eight bidders. With a budget of $455,000, only two came under budget and Lamar was the low bidder. Also, bid authorization was approved for a walk-in cooler and freezer for the distribution center, eliminating the need for spending $65,000 annually for leased warehouse space now used, according to Cynthia Ruffin of the Central Office.

In other matters, the board approved the eighth change order for St. Rose Elementary School’s first phase, a $20,687 item. This is to replace the ceilings in the stairwells and elevator with gypsum, in order to meet state fire marshal requirements, for additional plumbing in the school nurse’s office and for an icemaker in the same office.

Also, school breakfast prices for middle and high school students from 70 cents to 90 cents per day were approved to allow the food service staff to offer more “grab-and-go” convenience items to the menu.

At the same time, lunch prices went from one dollar to $1.35, to allow for more menu items and increase portion sizes in some items.

During his report, Superintendent Dr. Rodney Lafon discussed the “Year in Review” report, which updates the public on construction projects, recognizes staff and student achievements and provides school snapshots of progress at every school.

The St. Charles Parish School District serves 9,897 students at 19 schools, including 13 elementary, four middle and two high schools. There are 813 teachers and 789 support employees.

Average teacher salary is $35,363, student-teacher ratio is 20 to 1 and an average of $6,800 per student is spent toward education.

A total of $8.3 million in scholarships were awarded this year, and the district received a total of $6,1 million in grants from federal, state, corporate and foundation sources.