Action taken on policy changes

 It didn’t take long for the Acadia Parish School Board to get to work at the December general meeting Monday night.

With no special guests, the board jumped head first into two action items that had been batted around for discussion and thought between the full board and the Personnel, Insurance and Curriculum Committee. But, Monday night it was time for action, specifically on Acadia Parish’s School Choice policy and adjustments to its field trip policy.

Both items were addressed by the committee twice and the full board once in between that before Monday’s meeting. Both were approved by the board unanimously by a 6-0 vote, with board members Israel Syria and Milton Simar absent.

The following is how the school choice policy is written for Acadia Parish:

“For purposes of determining capacity, as determined by district staffing policy, any school which has an anticipated enrollment of greater than 80 percent of its optimal total student capacity, in the grade in which the student seeks to enroll, will be deemed to have insufficient capacity for an Act 853 enrollment.

“Any school that has portables or modular buildings would be considered at capacity.

“If, after enrolling all prior year students applicants exceed the remaining capacity, applicants will be selected in order of academically disadvantaged, economically disadvantaged, timeliness of applications until capacity is no longer available.

“Parents and guardians of students who do not reside within Acadia Parish will be responsible for the transportation of students to and from school.

“Parents and guardians of students who reside in Acadia Parish must transport students to a bus stop or transfer point of a bus which serves the transfer school, and must remain with the student until boarding of the bus, and be present at the bus stop when the student disembarks from the bus.”

The board also added the following to its field trip policy, in regard to the use of private vehicles for field trips: “The principal has obtained permission from his/her immediate supervisor.”

In routine items, the following recommendations by the Budget & Finance Committee were approved unanimously by the full board Monday night.

• The acceptance of a change order on the Iota Elementary Classroom Project.
• The acceptance of moving forward with a request for proposals addressing an e-rate grant.
• The acceptance of Child Nutrition program bids.
• The acceptance of the superintendent, or an appointee, to deal with Foley and Judell in regard to millages.
• The acceptance of making the June supplement permanent and funding the November and December supplements for at least an additional three years (through 2016). Board member James Higginbotham abstained from the vote.
• The acceptance of provisions of Act 1 of 2012.

The request by Branch Elementary’s American History class to travel to Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama, during the time period of May 29, 2015 through June 4, 2015 was also approved.

The board’s next general meeting will be Jan. 12, 2015. There will be no committee meetings in December.