St. John School Board OKs from tax revenue

By SUE ELLEN ROSS

Staff Reporter

RESERVE – After a 50-minute discussion regarding a one-time salary adjustment, the St. John School Board on Thursday decided to give full-time school employees $500 this month. The money is coming from a $591,000 fund garnered by this year’s increased sales tax revenue, which had not already been budgeted.

In the original motion, Board member Clarence Triche asked the Board to approve $300 for each employee, with the situation revisited in the Spring. Another $300 may be possible at that time, he added.

Before that item was voted on, St. John Employee Association representation Rev. Herman Clayton, Jr. asked the board for the amount of $500 per person. He said that in light of the more than half-million dollars the school system was receiving, that this amount was do-able and the employees deserved it.

Councilman Matt Ory then amended the motion to $400 per employee, and the long discussion over the amount ensued.

“Before I even consider a Christmas bonus, I would like to see every penny we cut out of our budget (last year), restored,” said Board member Russ Wise, and added, “The laws say that public employees are not allowed bonuses.”

Wise continued to assail the idea of the one-time salary adjustment, but also said he supports the school employees. He said he would rather see the employees’ salaries go up permanently instead of just for this one time.

The board finally agreed, 8-2, to the $500 for each employee (which amounts to $539,000,) after reassurance from Finance Officer Felix Boughton that it was possible to approve the amount without breaking the bank.

All members, except for Dowie Gendron and Russ Wise, gave their stamp of approval. Board member Elexia Henderson was absent.

In other news at the meeting, the board approved a request for teachers in the St. John School System to receive an extra $343 each. In 2003-04 the school systems collected $203,260 in excess sales taxes dedicated to teacher salaries. Every year at this time, it is distributed to the teachers, according to the request. This liability was accrued after June 2004 and doesn’t affect this year’s budget.

Finally, the School Board approved the Educational Assistance Program. This plan is funded by state grants and is geared toward teachers’ certifications. Tuition, fees, books, supplies, equipment and testing are included in the benefits. The request stated that it is necessary for the Board to have a written Board-adopted plan.