School choice policy deployed

A policy approved Thursday gives students at schools with a School Performance Score of D or F the choice of which school to attend under certain parameters.
School choice already was in place in Louisiana, but Act 853 of the 2014 Louisiana Legislature required school systems to define their own parameters for allowing students attending low-performing schools to move to others inside or out of the district. It also added D schools to the mix, St. Mary Assistant Superintendent Teresa Bagwell said.
St. Mary Parish has six schools that received a D rank in the 2013 report cards, the most recent year for available data. They are Franklin and West St. Mary high schools; Franklin Junior High; and LaGrange, Hernandez and Raintree elementaries. There are no F schools in the parish.
Students at those schools have the option of attending a school within the district ranked A, B or C.
Bagwell said during Thursday’s St. Mary Parish School Board meeting that parents can make the choice to send their child to another school but must provide transportation.
She said the decision to make parents drive their children to another school is because of the low numbers that are expected to be transported.
“You might only have five or even 15 coming from one area, but they wouldn’t necessarily be going to the same schools, and, either way, it’s not a full bus load,” Bagwell said via telephone this morning.
A student may only transfer to a school that is below 85 percent capacity at his or her grade level.
Capacity is defined as an average of 24 students per class in kindergarten through fifth grade and 27 in grades six through 12, Bagwell said.
Also, the policy states that students will be deemed ineligible for school choice if they were expelled for any reason during the previous school year, suspended more than once in the preceding school year, involved in more than one fight or act of violence on grounds, being found in possession of any illicit drug on the school grounds or having more than 10 unexcused absences the preceding year.
Students are recertified annually based on School Performance Scores, capacity limits per grade and student discipline.
Act 853 allows for students to attend schools in other districts as well, but St. Mary has declined to participate in the cross-district trades. It would create a mountain of paperwork, Bagwell said, because Minimum Foundation Program money follows students to any school they attend.
In other action Thursday, the School Board:
—Approved numerous other policies including one on non-school employment by School Board employees. The policy does not eliminate the ability of a teacher or coach to make additional money tutoring or otherwise offering private instruction on school campuses. It does require that they have the written consent of the superintendent and, as in the case of private sports camps, fill out an agreement and pay a portion of the proceeds to the district.
—Increased the maximum School Board contribution to independent school bus drivers for liability insurance from $2,700 to $4,000 annually due to rising insurance costs. The increase amounts to a maximum of $45,500 this year.
—Approved the Gold Book, a salary schedule and job classification policy book, for the 2014-15 fiscal year. In it, a school clerical staffing formula was added that awards another part-time secretary to Hattie Watts because of its population and a part-time clerk to Berwick High’s guidance office.
—Approved a $9,850 expenditure to relocate the special education classroom at Morgan City High into an unused classroom adjacent to a restroom. The money will come from District 3 maintenance funds.
—Announced the final sale of the Crowell Building to the City of Franklin for $48,000 deposited into the District 1 capital funds account.
—Approved liability insurance renewals for a total of $466,278, an increase of about $13,000 over the previous year due to an increased value of the insured vehicles on the policy.