By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE — Approximately 800 children displaced from Hurricane Katrina still remain in the St. John Parish school system according to Superintendent Michael Coburn, but regardless of the new year the goal remains the same, getting results from students.

Basic or above is the slogan Coburn to describe what they ultimately want from their students in their basic skills tests.

&#8220We want our kids to score basic or above, that’s the deal,” Coburn said. This is a daunting task considering the amount of new school-age children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The St. John Parish School system collected 1,700 students in October but handled it like professionals, according to Coburn.

&#8220Even though we collected a lot of new students we didn’t have to expand using trailers, we just increased the class load,” Coburn said. &#8220Our biggest obstacle was having enough money but the state is coming through with $1,250 per child.”

In addition to money from the state, the school system will also be receiving $6,000 in Federal funding for each dislocated child that enrolls in St. John Parish.

The cost of educating Hurricane Katrina evacuees alone is close to $4.5 million, according to Coburn, but the money they are to receive from the state and federal governments is about $500,000 more than St. John’s additional education costs.

However, that doesn’t mean there is an abundance of funds by any means.

St. John also had to hire an additional 40 teachers after the storm, which added to their already stretched budget.

Even with these obstacles, Coburn is positive that if he can get the school board behind him and all school staffs on the same page, finances are their only obstacles.

A recent bond issue that failed to pass would have provided $1 million for maintenance continuation and an additional $20 million for facility upgrades.

&#8220It lost the vote to pass by about 20 percent, Coburn said. &#8220Hopefully we can get the board behind us on this and pass it in April or July.”