By David Vitrano
L’Observateur

LUTCHER – The St. James Parish School Board reluctantly agreed to pay nearly $1 million from its general fund to the Louisiana teachers’ retirement fund.
The state says the school district owes $985,518 to the Unfunded Accrued Liability Fund for 12 employees’ positions that were switched from public to private entities. This came about when the parish switched its bus transportation system from a parish-run entity to one run by the private business First Student. The School Board agreed to pay the amount, but did so under protest.
The school district has filed a lawsuit against the state, and that lawsuit is currently in appeals, but the School Board reluctantly agreed to pay the amount because the state is charging 7.5 percent annually on the amount.
The lawsuit was filed jointly by the St. James, Evangeline and Pointe Coupee school districts.
“Hopefully we will either win on appeal or get the law changed,” said Superintendent Alonzo Luce.
He said that when the district switched its transportation management to First Student, no employees were let go.
All had the choice to either stay employed with the district or switch their employment to First Student, and many of the positions now filled by First Student employees became vacant through retirement.
Luce added that the state has encouraged local school districts to cut cost by outsourcing, so he said the district is basically being penalized for following the state’s suggestions.
The state has steadily increased retirement costs for local school districts over the past few years while keeping MFP funding at the same level.
Members of the School Board were visibly dismayed by the situation, with board member George Nassar saying, “This is absolutely ridiculous. I ask each and every one of you to call your senator.”
Also Tuesday, the School Board approved a bid for $598,285 from Boone Services for the construction of an access road at the site of the future St. James High School stadium near the intersection of Louisiana Highways 20 and 3127.
Construction of the road should begin in the next week or two and is slated to be completed within 90 days. The stadium itself is still in design phase, but Luce said once it goes out for bid, the facility should take about 18 months to complete.
Lastly, the School Board issued a resolution congratulating the Lutcher High School baseball team on its recent state title.
Head baseball coach Davey Clement said, “It was just a great season. It was a pleasure for us to coach these kids.”
Lutcher High Athletic Director Tim Detillier, noting some personal tragedies that occurred during the season, noted, “There most probably was some divine intervention somewhere along the line.”
 He added, “For years to come we will use this team as an example.”