Board approves grant-funded attendance/mental-health role, behavior‑support contracts, insurance renewal and culvert purchase

The Avoyelles Parish School Board handled multiple formal actions at its June meeting, approving a series of personnel, contract and finance items while debating long-term funding and appropriate use of school-generated FFA lease revenue.

Attendance improvement specialist and mental‑health manager. The board reconsidered and approved a combined attendance improvement specialist/mental‑health manager job description to be funded with available grant funds. Board members repeatedly asked staff to confirm that the allocation is grant‑funded and time‑limited; staff reported the budgeted amount discussed in the meeting was $100,000 and reiterated that "once these funds run out, this position runs out" (the position was described to the board as contingent on external grant funding and not guaranteed as an ongoing general‑fund salary). Several board members asked staff to prioritize hiring from current district employees when possible and to provide progress reports on outcomes and a clear plan if funding ends.

Behavior support: Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs). The board approved contracting for three RBTs—one each at Cottonport, Marksville and Pocheville elementary schools—funded through IDEA-B at $55 per hour for a maximum 34‑hour week. Staff explained that by law RBTs must be supervised by a BCBA (board‑certified behavior analyst); supervision hours are proportionate to RBT time (the transcript states about two hours of supervision per RBT per month for the planned schedule). District staff said initial selection prioritized campuses with the highest documented incidence of severe behavior, limited local BCBA availability and a plan to limit direct caseloads to roughly six students per school and to provide teacher training and ongoing documentation.

Insurance renewal. The board approved an insurance renewal package presented by Mr. Blake Null of First Insurance. The renewal includes switching the property carrier to STAR (the transcript says the new carrier returned to the Louisiana market), a materially lower property premium compared with recent years, an increase in name‑storm capacity (the broker described a move from $5 million on that layer to $25 million), a selected per‑occurrence cap described as $50 million (decision based on modeled loss scenarios), and a change to wind/hail deductible terms: a $100,000 per‑occurrence deductible for most wind/hail exposures (with a 2% deductible retained for named hurricane/tropical storm events). The presentation also noted an existing $5 million flood policy with a $100,000 deductible that covers schools not in high‑risk flood zones.

Millage adoption and other routine motions. The board adopted the recommended 2026 millage rates (constitutional tax, operation and maintenance, and special maintenance rates were listed in the presentation) and approved the weekly news as the district’s official journal for the coming fiscal year; one member abstained from the journal designation due to a nonprofit affiliation.

Culverts and FFA lease property repairs (contentious). The police jury asked the board to fund eight 18‑inch culverts ($4,500) and 10 loads of #57 limestone ($11,000) to repair access to leased Old River campsites on district land, with the police jury proposing to perform installation and grading. Staff advised caution about using school funds for public road work; board members debated whether culvert replacement is a property maintenance responsibility the district can fund from FFA lease proceeds. After debate and an initial tie or split, the board amended the request and approved only purchase of the eight culverts (for $4,500) with the police jury asked to dig ditches and install the culverts before funds are released. The limestone request was removed from the motion.

Why it matters: The actions move forward district supports aimed at student attendance and behavioral needs, while the culvert vote highlights tensions about when school‑generated funds should be used for repairs on leased parcels and how the district coordinates with the police jury. Several board members emphasized the one‑year or grant‑limited nature of the new personnel commitments and asked for regular progress updates to evaluate effectiveness and sustainability.

What's next: Staff committed to providing implementation details and documentation: hiring timelines and terms for the attendance/mental‑health position, a final vendor/contract for the RBTs (including supervisory BCBA arrangements), and oversight steps for the culvert installation prior to disbursing funds. The board adopted the millages and moved on to other agenda items.