By David Vitrano
L’Observateur

LUTCHER – Although summer school board meetings can often be dull and uneventful, St. James Parish’s most recent one was anything but as a series of public comments brought out not only scores of community members but the local television media as well.
First up was Rhonda Zeringue, whose daughter, Kassidy Zeringue, graduated from Lutcher High School in May.
Zeringue claims that when class rankings were decided, her daughter was overlooked in favor of St. James Superintendent Alonzo Luce’s daughter, who was an accelerated student and graduated at the age of 16. Zeringue said policies in the Pupil Progression Plan contained conflicting wording, but one policy stated that certain restrictions applied to those students who graduate early. District administration claimed that specific policy should have been removed when a newer, conflicting policy was put in place.
“I have a lot of support from faculty,” she said. “They are not following the policy.”
Another complaint came from Paulina Elementary teacher and coach Wendy Neal, who took issue with the new salary schedule for coaches and assistant coaches. She claimed her years of experience were being overlooked because the sports she coaches are not considered “top tier.”
“The first-ranked sports happen to be those that make money,” she said.
She said that according to the new supplemental pay schedule, she would be paid the same amount as someone with much less experience but who is involved in a sport such as football. Neal coaches tennis and swimming.
“Me getting paid the same amount as a kid in college, that’s the point,” she said. “I can’t believe my years of experience would be dismissed.”
She said adding insult to injury was the fact that the new pay scale would cut her coaching salary by about $3,000 per year. Neal is nearing retirement and said that pay cut could haunt her for years to come.
She added that coaching is much more than calling plays.
“It’s not just a body that the children need,” she said. “It’s someone who cares.”
The final concern came from Clyde Cooper and Calvin Lebeouf, who came to urge the board not to follow through with a plan to close one of the wings at Fifth Ward Elementary School.
Luce explained that the rationale behind closing the wing was that less than half of the space was being used in either wing, so consolidating the students made sense both logistically and from a conservation stance.
Some who live in the area, including School Board member Patricia Schexnayder, saw the move as another attempt to infringe upon the mostly black west bank school, however.
She said there are also safety concerns when lumping together students of vastly different ages.
“These parents are concerned,” she said. “Right is right. We pay taxes. We live in St. James.”
Lebeouf added that he believes the Fifth District of the parish, which lies on the western end of the west bank, will retain many of its residents and may even show signs of growth.
“Projections aren’t always right,” he said.
In each instance, no immediate action was taken, but the school board pledged to look into each matter.