RESERVE — Six finalists for St. John the Baptist Parish Superintendent were selected to advance to the first round of interviews during last week’s School Board meeting in Reserve.

Quentina Timoll, Margaret Cage, Corwin Robinson, Kelli Joseph, Curt Green and Patricia Triche will undergo interviews for the position in early November. If necessary, a second round of interviews for finalists will be held no later than Nov. 18-19.

The selection of the finalists followed an executive session wherein School Board members discussed the character, professional competence and physical or mental health of each person who applied for superintendent. For the past several months, School Board members have held work sessions and utilized findings from a public survey to define the ideal characteristics of the next superintendent.

As the chief executive officer and the professional advisor to the School Board, the next St. John Parish Superintendent will be responsible for recommending goals and carrying out policies to move the public school system forward.

This includes assigning and defining the duties of all public school personnel, as well as making recommendations to prepare the annual budget for School Board approval.

Several St. John STEM Magnet Program parents were in attendance at the Oct. 17 School Board meeting, eager for answers one week after it was announced that the STEM program could be relocated for the 2020-2021 school year.

Board members previously approved a motion offering to lease the Leon Godchaux Junior High building, the current site of the STEM program, to Louisiana Premier Charter School.

If Louisiana Premier accepts the offer, the School Board would be responsible for completing $500,000 in repairs in advance of the next school year, in addition to any capital repairs required throughout the subsequent three years.

However, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) must first decide if Louisiana Premier will be a Type One charter, under the discretion of the St. John School Board, or a Type Two charter, completely separate from the School Board.

BESE members tabled the decision during the Oct. 15 meeting in Baton Rouge, opting to revisit the matter at the next board meeting in December.

There was no further discussion about the STEM Program location during the Oct. 17 St. John School Board meeting in Reserve.

The topic was referenced, however, when Silvia Taylor approached the podium to discuss ongoing air quality concerns surrounding Fifth Ward Elementary School, which is located near the Denka Performance Elastomer in LaPlace.

Taylor was disappointed that the Concerned Citizens of St. John had not been put on the agenda during recent school board meetings. She noted the School Board was expected to give an update to a feasibility study concerning the relocation of Fifth Ward Elementary students during the Sept. 17 School Board meeting.

“There was a discussion (during the August board meeting) that the best relocation sites would be East St. John Prep or Garyville Mt. Airy Magnet School,” Taylor said.

“I understand there was a meeting held Oct. 9. We were not listed on the agenda. Nevertheless, at that meeting, $500,000 was allocated for a new charter school, and it was stated that there were several move-in ready sites available for the charter school. So, there are no move-in ready sites available for the kids at Fifth Ward? I don’t understand that.”

Following Taylor’s comments, School Board President Patrick Sanders made a motion to accept RFPs for studying options for redistricting the school district. The motion carried with 11 yeas, no absences.

“Reducing the number of noncertified teachers is a part of that, in addition to the possibility of closures of schools,” Sanders said. “We have to do a redistricting plan to make this happen and have something hopefully in place for the next school year.”

School Board member Debbie Schum said redistricting was discussed during the Oct. 9 board work session in relation to Fifth Ward Elementary.
“We did discuss that the RFP will include getting us the (student) population based on Fifth Ward being in the number and the population based on Fifth Ward not being a school that we would place students in,” Schum said.