High School Briefs
December 13, 2016
Leeville proves a worthy host for rodeo
December 13, 2016
The Lafourche Parish School Board voted unanimously to approve announcing to the state it will hold a meeting to consider holding an election to raise teachers’ pay and raise bond money for schools’ facility improvements. The announcement is the first step toward putting both measures on the April 29 ballot for voter approval, with the school board meeting on Feb. 1 to vote on sending them to the polls.
New sales tax would pay for teachers’ raise
If the school board approves the measure, voters will have to decide to approve a one-cent sales tax on themselves to pay for the teachers’ pay raise.
According to data provided by the school district, a one-cent tax would bring in about $14 million for the parish to be used for raises. The school district does not have a defined proposed raise structure yet, but some money would go toward improving starting salary and also improving teacher raises.
The proposed raise is part of an effort to improve recruitment and retention among Lafourche Parish teachers. According to school district data, Lafourche’s starting salary of $40,000 is tied with Assumption Parish for the lowest among Lafourche and its neighboring parishes. Lafourche’s raise structure is behind all other parishes in the group, leaving it with the lowest final salary level for its most experienced teachers. For comparison, a Lafourche teacher with 30 years of experience currently earns the maximum salary of $49,000. The next closest maximum salary is Terrebonne at more than $51,000, which teachers reach after only 25 years of working. On the highest side in the region is St. Charles Parish, where a teacher can earn more than $63,000 after 25 years. The LPSD has lost 118 teachers in the last three years to other parishes.
Lafourche educators packed the school board meeting room on Wednesday to voice their support for the raise, noting the discrepancies between the local salaries and the strong performance of the school district, which received an “A” rating from the Louisiana Department of Education for the 2015-16 school year and ranked 13th out of 73 state school districts. Kenneth Delcambre, Sixth Ward Middle School principal, said he did not initially support the tax increase due to the threat of hampering and already-struggling local economy. However, Delcambre said he supports the measure for the sake of keeping talented teachers in Lafourche. Delcambre said when he was shown the discrepancies in teacher pay in the region, he was afraid to show the numbers to his teachers for fear of losing them. According to Delcambre, bumping up teacher pay is the best way for the school district to protect its investment in young, talented teachers, noting the number of teachers that left for higher pay nearby.
“We’re pouring resources in them to train them, coach them up, to do the great things that we’re being asked to do. We’re training them, and they’re leaving and other parishes are receiving that benefit,” Delcambre said.
Lafourche’s business community also came forward to express their concerns with the possible tax increase. They said adding to the already-high tax burden in Lafourche could harm an economy already reeling from depressed oil prices over the last two years.
Lin Kiger, president of the Lafourche Chamber of Commerce, said over 11,000 residents in Lafourche and Terrebonne have lost their jobs in the downturn, with many more having salaries, benefits and hours cut. Kiger asked the school district find more efficiencies in its current budget to pay for raises and said local businesses and families cannot absorb the one-cent increase. He said it would hamper Lafourche’s ability to compete with nearby parishes for new investment. Darby Chiasson, a local business owner, agreed with Kiger on Lafourche already having a very high tax burden, and he also called for Lafourche to find room for raises without increasing taxes.
“Ask the board to look at cuts in the budget that don’t pit taxpayers against our teachers or programs for our students. We all appreciate what teachers do every day, we want what’s best for our students, but our current economy cannot support a new tax,” Chiasson said.
Tiffany Thibodaux, speaking on behalf of teachers at Bayou Blue Elementary School, talked about the vast improvements the school district has made through the efforts of its teachers. Thibodaux said as the LPSD has thrived, teacher pay has remained the same for the past ten years as the cost of living has gone up. Thibodaux said the entire community is very proud of the school district’s A rating, but now is the time for the parish to reward the workers who made that happen.
“We did what you asked of us. Now it is time for you to support us, the teachers, paras, principals, secretaries, librarians, cafeteria workers and janitors of Lafourche Parish…We want to stay in lafourche parish; we love Lafourche parish. Please allow us to stay by letting the voters decide on this issue,” Thibodaux said.
Renewed millage could pay for facility improvements, turf fields
The school district will also consider sending a request to raise bond money to the voters for approval. The bonds would be paid for by an existing millage, meaning Lafourche property owners would not face an increased tax burden by approving the bonds.
The maximum the school district could raise is $83 million, although the school would decide how much it wants to raise at the Feb. 1 meeting and then vote to send that request to the voters.
The raised money would go toward facility improvements, including repairs at existing schools, possibly building new schools and even providing turf fields at the three local high schools.
Support for the bonds was more universal than the sales tax, due to a lack of a tax hike, because the millage is already in place. Many parish educators and administrators spoke about the needs for structural improvements or entirely new buildings at their schools. East Thibodaux Middle School Principal Tanya Richard said her school had undergone two major constructions, during which teachers were shuffled from classroom to classroom. She said her school’s old building has an outdated electric supply and underground pipes for heating and air condition, which poses a maintenance problem whenever issues arise.
According to Richard, her school is sinking in certain areas, to the point that the area near the school’s library can quickly flood during heavy rains. Richard advocated for raising the bond money, saying students in Lafourche deserve a good education and as well as a nice building to have it in.
“My teachers are there almost 24/7. They spend more time in their classrooms than they do at home, a lot of them. They need a nice area,” Richard said. “Climate is so important. If we have a nice climate and our teachers and our students feel positive about where they are, it helps the learning process.”
Central Lafourche High School Football Head Coach Keith Menard spoke in favor of adding the turf fields, saying the turf’s durability would improve life for students beyond the football team, including band, soccer teams and middle school sports teams. According to Menard, the Central Lafourche field has about 50 events per year. He said turf representatives told him schools should start looking at turf fields at around 24 events per year.
Menard said the current grass field, which is liable to being torn up or unplayable after rain, causes unnecessary friction between him and other coaches and band directors due to scheduling. By having a resilient turf field, Menard said, the scheduling disputes could be resolved by removing the threat of practices and games damaging the field.
“The turf field would solve a lot of issues, scheduling, and everything that goes on at our school,” Menard said. “We spent a ton of money to get a field back that in one half of football we destroyed. So it’s sort of like taking our money and walking to the storm drain and pouring it in, because that’s exactly what’s happening.” •
