Transfer policy change would improve poorly-performing schools, Thomas says

The Terrebonne Parish School Board split in a 5-4 vote directing Superintendent Ed Richard Jr. and his staff to develop a plan for the hiring and placement of non-tenured, non-certified teachers.

Board member Roosevelt Thomas claimed at last Tuesday’s meeting that the current policy, which allows such teachers to request a transfer after one year, causes certain schools to remain poor performing.

“That’s why we always see Ellender [Memorial High School] and Oaklawn [Junior High] having dozens of vacancies every year,” he said.

Opponents argued that such a move would cause teachers to look elsewhere for employment.

“My feeling is when we start dictating that they have to remain somewhere for a certain length of time, they will look to another place that doesn’t dictate that,” said Debra Yarbrough, supervisor of personnel.

Thomas hopes Richard’s staff comes back to the board with a plan similar to the Lafourche Parish School Board, which only allows a teacher to transfer after staying three years at a school.

Voting for the motion were Thomas, Rickie Pitre, Hayes Badeaux, Clark Bonvillain and Greg Harding. Opposed were Richard Jackson, L.P. Bordelon, Roger “Dale” DeHart and Donald Duplantis.

The board also approved a motion asking Richard and his staff for a realignment plan addressing school overcrowding, grade configuration and school boundary issues.

Thomas insisted that, due to population increase, schools such as Houma and Evergreen junior high schools are overcrowded, while Southdown Elementary and Dularge Middle schools have available space.

Bordelon suggested asking the public for funding to construct new schools to deal with overcrowding. He also implied that changing school boundaries might need approval from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“I think we are premature in asking about moving boundary lines and grade configurations,” he said. “The overcrowding issue can be dealt with without possibly getting the government involved.”

“We might want to make a phone call right now and have them come look at the makeup of some of these schools,” Thomas retorted.

Approving the motion were Thomas, Pitre, Badeaux, Harding and Bonvillain.

The usual formality of accepting the superintendent personnel appointments was upset when Thomas took issue with Richard’s choice for interim assistant principal at Ellender Memorial High School.

The board approved Corey Bourg, who is white, for the position, but only after Thomas injected racial identity into the discussion.

Bourg replaces Bill Simmons Jr., an African-American, who was approved by the board as interim principal at Southdown just moments before.

Thomas questioned why Ellender, whose student population is 58 percent non-white, should have a white principal and two white assistant principals.

“I don’t know Mr. Bourg, never met him,” Thomas said. “I’m sure he is qualified to do the job, but I’m not going to support this appointment, and I ask Mr. Richard to reconsider hiring or transferring someone else more suited to the demographics of that school.”

Harding, the other African-American on the board besides Thomas, agreed.

“Some of you can pretend that [racial] identity doesn’t matter, but we have to deal with reality,” he said. “These kids need to see someone in a position of authority that they can identify with.”

Duplantis and DeHart insisted that Thomas was out of line for throwing race into the matter.

“We should only concern ourselves with who is the most qualified person for the job,” DeHart said. “It shouldn’t matter if you’re black, white, brown, red, yellow or whatever.”

Voting for Bourg’s appointment were Jackson, Bordelon, Badeaux, DeHart and Duplantis.

In other actions, the board voted 7-2 to direct Richard’s staff to devise a policy capping unused annual leave at 30 days.

The board voted 5-4 against appointing Barbara Quebeaux administrative secretary of the maintenance department.

The board unanimously approved new job description revisions for master teachers and multi-sensory language teachers in the 2008-09 Accountability Handbook.