Ville Platte- Evangeline Parish Superintendent of Schools Toni Hamlin Wednesday advised school board members that two important elements of the governor’s education reform efforts will be up for final passage in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Hamlin was referring to House Bill 974 dealing with teacher tenure and performance pay and House Bill 976 dealing with school choice.
Parish teachers are using emails to send messages to lawmakers rather than attending in person, according to the superintendent.
Board member Scott Limoges agreed with the superintendent that there are a lot of unanswered questions dealing with education reform proposed by the governor and his administration.
Hamlin said “I think everyone here is in favor of education reform but how do we get there? I feel there are many details that have not been worked out.
School Board Vice President Jerry Thompson commented “ I believe they are attempting to jam this down our throats before planning it all out.”
Personnel Supervisor Michael Lombas told the board “The administration wants us to have more charter schools because 44 percent of our public schools are failing D and F schools. However they fail to mention that 64% of charter schools are failing, more than our public schools. Also, charter schools are not as accountable as public schools are.”
Also, Superintendent Hamlin informed the school board that she reluctantly called for the closure of school today in parish schools Wednesday . She spoke three times with the 9-1-1 and First Student transportation officials before making the call. She reached her decision after being notified from the mayor of Ville Platte about a number of flooded streets throughout the city. Ville Platte received 3.4 inches of rain Wednesday.
In other business, the school board :
--received news that due to the Easter holiday, there will only be one board meeting in April, April 18;
--was notified that Cabot Corporation made a $25,000 donation for the technology department.
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