Ville Platte        The Evangeline Parish School Board, Wednesday, heard from Keith Guice, President of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education representing District Five.

                         Guice reported that due to reapportionment, part of Evangeline Parish is now in his re-drawn district that runs from Evangeline Parish northward to the Arkansas line.

                          In the past, Evangeline Parish was part of District 8 which is represented by Linda Johnson who is not seeking another term in office. Guice said, only portions of Ville Platte and Mamou in the parish remain in District 8.

                           Guice  is a retired superintendent of schools from Catahoula Parish. He said “ I totally support public education. We face a crisis in public education in this state and a challenge in retirement systems. “

                            Guice questioned why a political action committee is raising “a million dollars” to fund the campaigns of certain candidates for the BESE board when board members receive no pay for their service.

                             In other business, the school board approve the lone quote of Lemoine and Associates Insurance of Ville Platte for general liability insurance coverage  for $141,956. That is an increase of $11,802 over last year due to the fact that the coverage limit has increased from $300,000 to $1 million dollars.

                            Board Vice President Jerry Hoffpauir questioned why was there only one bidder on the insurance coverage. “I cannot understand, in the economic situation we’re facing, why aren’t there several companies running here to turn in a quote to get our business,” said Hoffapauir.

                           Superintendent of Schools Toni Hamlin informed Hoffpauir that there was a second insurance firm that requested information but did not turn in a quote. She also said there have been multiple insurance quotes in the past but this year, only one quote was turned in.