By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – With the St. John the Baptist Parish School System still dealing with an extended loss of school days because of Hurricane Isaac, district administrators are hoping the state will allow for a reduction in required instructional minutes for the 2012-13 school year to make up for the loss.

Heidi Trosclair, assistant superintendent in charge of curriculum and instruction, said the school district has requested an audience with state legislators to discuss this and other issues affecting the school system in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. The only problem is the district will have to wait until next year’s legislative session for their needs to be heard.

Trosclair said one of the main issues is the amount of school time lost because of the storm. Most schools in the district missed nine days of classes because of the storm, but severe flooding at Lake Pontchartrain Elementary and East St. John High School forced extended closures at those campuses. Lake Pontchartrain students missed 14 days and East St. John students missed 19.

“We are asking the state to allow us to reduce the school year by five days for the schools that lost nine days,” she said. “For the two schools with extended closure, we are asking to reduce the school year by 10 days without incurring penalties from the state. The state did it after Hurricane Katrina, but legislators held a special session right after the storm. Our request will have to wait until March.”

Trosclair said teachers will use compacted curricula and other instructional methods to ensure delivery of content in all subjects at all schools. In the meantime, the school board is expected to take up a measure at Thursday’s meeting to revise the 2012-13 school calendar to accommodate the missed days.

Starting Jan. 14, the school day at all district schools will be extended by a few minutes each day. Trosclair also said the last day of school for East St. John High students would be moved from May 30 to June 14 to make up for lost days.

Trosclair said the school district is also asking the state to freeze the district’s MFP funding at its current level. She said a portion of the funding might be in danger when attendance numbers are determined this week. As of Monday, the school system reported 6,220 students in attendance, which is down by 237 at this time last year.

The district also wants federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in helping to pay for losses incurred in the storm. Instead of a 75/25 percent match, the district is requesting a 90/10 match.

The district also wants a change in the FEMA flood insurance deduction from a per building deduction to a per campus deduction.

The school board meets Thursday at 6 p.m. at the district meeting room  at 118 W. 10th St. in Reserve.