St. John the Baptist Parish School Board approves Head Start grant and awards millions in contracts

At its March 13 meeting the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board approved the 2025–26 Head Start Grant Application and Cost Allocation Plan and approved the Head Start Self-Assessment and Community Assessment.

The board also voted to award a series of procurement contracts recommended by staff and architects. Notable awards recorded in the meeting minutes included: Brunt Construction for security upgrades and improvements at LaPlace Elementary School (low bid $1,433,700; Optional Add Alternate #1 $126,700); Blanchard Mechanical Contractors for HVAC renovations at Garyville Mt. Airy Magnet School ($380,000); Blanchard Construction Company for HVAC renovations at West St. John Elementary ($855,900); Volute, Inc. for HVAC renovations at West St. John High School ($367,300); Cuzan Services for locker room and restroom improvements at East St. John High School ($1,779,000); and Taylor Enterprises, LLC for locker/restroom improvements at West St. John High School ($1,059,000).

Additional approvals included an award to Firm Enterprise for demolition and brush cleanup at Woodland Elementary ($18,900); E-rate licenses for district Juniper Networks to Transformyx (cost: $294,064.98; noted as 100% reimbursable by grant); awards for bus parts to NAPA; general maintenance supplies to Fisher Ace Hardware; awards and incentive items to Tri-Parish Trophies; and T-shirts to Cole’s Screen Printing (Germantown, TN). Several contract amounts were not specified in the minutes for vendor-awarded line items.

Board members approved these motions by roll call votes. For example, the Head Start grant motion (MOTION BY: Wallace, SECOND BY: Holden) passed 11–0; the E-rate license award (MOTION BY: Triche, SECOND BY: Morris) also passed 11–0. The motion to award T-shirts to Cole's Screen Printing carried with 9 yeas and 2 abstentions (Burl and Mamou).

The meeting record notes that some bids were accepted on the recommendation of the architect of record and the lowest responsive bidder standard was applied for construction contracts. Where amounts or specific contract terms were not recorded in these minutes, the transcript marks those entries as "not specified."