St. Mary schools hang on to driver's ed

CENTERVILLE—The St. Mary Parish School Board decided to keep driver education programs in high schools during Tuesday’s budget workshop. But four members wanted to discontinue the program.

“I think that we’re not making a fiscally sound decision … with money to buy cars when we closed two schools,” board member Marilyn LaSalle, of District 6, said.

The Louisiana Department of Education transferred driver education programs to the Department of Public Safety during the 2012-13 year. As a result, the school board applied to provide driver education services and is required to follow the same regulations as private providers.

“There is a lot more paperwork, a lot more accountability,” Secondary Instruction Supervisor Peter Boudreaux said. “It’s just more scrutiny, I’d guess you’d say, coming from the Department of Public Safety versus the Department of Education.”

Five vehicles are used for driving instruction. Based on safety regulations, use of the vehicles will expire after December 2016. The contract limit on a car is 10 years. In order to keep the program afloat, new cars have to be purchased.

The board agreed to purchase three vehicles instead of five.

The course is 30 hours of classroom instruction and eight hours of driving instruction. It counts as 1/2 -credit toward graduation. But it is not required for graduation.

If students 15 to 17 years old want a driver’s license, state law says they must provide proof of driver education training.

Students will pay $330 to take the driver’s education course, which is the lowest cost in any nearby area. The board approved a rate increased from $250 to $330. The increased rate is the same as Smart Start Driving School in Morgan City.

With class costs at $250, the program would break even.

Board member Kenny Alfred, of District 3, offered a scenario to increase program’s cost. It would help to pay off new vehicles sooner rather than later.

“I’m not promoting program,” Alfred said. “… If we increase ours from $250 to $330, that would give us 80 bucks more for 600 people, about $48,000.

“So in two years, we could pretty much pay for the vehicles, which would give us eight years of $50,000 profit on the deal. So, that’s one way to look at with all the red tape involved.”

But Boudreaux said that a staff cut in that department creates a heavier work load. Every two years, a contract has to be signed with the Office of Motor Vehicles. Additional regulations and responsibilities can and have been changed with each contract.

In calculating costs, there is no guarantee 600 students would sign up for the district’s program. The program is now in a direct cost competition with Smart Start in Morgan City.

The closest school district offering driver’s education is Lafayette Parish. Terrebonne Parish dropped the program in the 2016-17 school year . Ascension Parish allows programs to be held at its schools, but there is no affiliation with the school system.

Only 16 of 70 plus districts offer driver education.

More changes in the budget are expected to occur especially with the legislative special session scheduled to end June 23. But in August, the budget will be ready for final approval at the monthly board meeting.