Board approves summer feeding stipends but delays director’s $35,000 stipend request

The St. Landry Parish School Board on July 2 authorized summer feeding stipends of up to $500 per person for June and July, with board members clarifying the payments will come from federal program funds rather than the district’s general fund.

During the discussion the district’s nutrition director (identified in the record as Mrs. Herszock) told the board she has been working "over 100 hours a week" coordinating summer feeding operations and requested a $35,000 stipend to cover extended hours from January through August. She described a workload that begins with bid season in January and continues through distribution and claims in summer; she said the program had generated meal claims of roughly 2.65 million for June and presented a projection that the program would net at least $1.6 million for the season.

Board members expressed support for the program’s expansion and the director’s work but said they needed time to negotiate the specific stipend amount. A motion to delay action on the $35,000 request until the board’s August meeting — with guidance to negotiate terms and consider an executive session for personnel questions — passed. The board approved the $500 stipends in the meeting.

Officials said the stipend authority for summer feeding does not draw from the general fund and that program revenues and claims support the expenditures. The board asked staff to return in August with negotiated terms for the director’s request and any necessary personnel documentation.