ST MARY SCHOOL BOARD

The St. Mary School Board learned Thursday, total sales tax collections are 9.4 percent above budget.

Board Accountant Alton Ray Perry told the board, collections year to date are $12.079 million. The board originally budgeted $11.898 million for the same time period.

In another fiscal matter, Perry said total school damages from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike stand at $1.5 million.

Perry said after insurance payments received, $75, 113.01, anticipated insurance payments at $552,877.94, and anticipated FEMA proceeds at $750,000, the board will be responsible for $197,122.06.

On another subject, the board adopted its 2009-2010 school calendar, which chops Spring Break holidays for students. The board agreed to designate only Good Friday 2010 on April 2 and Easter Monday 2010 on April 5, as Easter holidays, followed by a week off for Spring Break, April 26 through April 30.

St. Mary Asst Schools Superintendent Keith Thibodeaux said the move is to allow teachers to “maximize test preparation time.”

He explained that students will return to school on April 6, to prepare for State wide standardized iLEAP, LEAP and GEE tests, which in 2010, will be April 12 through April 16.

“We felt if students would have observed the traditional Spring Break holidays after Easter, their chances of achieving higher benchmarks on the standardized tests would be challenging for some,” Thibodeaux said.

In personnel matters, the board appointed new principals for three schools: Karl Bashay, Franklin Jr. High, Michael Payton, W.P. Foster Elementary, and Charlene Borne, Raintree Elementary.

The appointments of Bashay and Payton will be effective July 1, 2009. Also, Payton is the son of School Board member Ed Payton.

The appointment of Borne will be effective April 20, as the board prepares for the opening of the new Raintree School this fall.

With the opening of Raintree, four schools will be consolidated into one. This 2008-2009 is the last school year for Baldwin, G.W. Hamilton, Mary Hines and Thomas Gibbs elementary schools.

The new $14 million school will house kindergarten through fifth grade in the 72,000-square-foot, 34-classroom facility.Along with a 750-student capacity, Raintree will feature a cafetorium — cafeteria/auditorium hybrid — for school events, computer labs and a media room in the library.

Also in the wake of opening Raintree, the board voted to declare the four old elementary schools as surplus property, allowing the board to sell or lease them. “We have already had some informal inquiries about some of the properties,” Schools Superintendent Dr. Donald Aguillard said. “If we are able to sell the properties, they will be appraised and your interests will be guarded.”

Also in personnel matters, the board accepted the resignations of Kristi Nelson, a paraprofessional at Foster Elementary School and Justin Hunt, a custodian at Centerville High School.