The Board received multiple administrative updates and took a formal step on litigation after an executive session.
On staffing, employee Yvette Scioneaux said late-hire staff had not received assignment letters and many employees did not yet know their campus assignments ahead of the school year. Superintendent Dr. Lynett Hookfin said principals were reviewing master schedules and staffing would be aligned to student counts and certification areas; board members asked for campus-level employee counts and earlier timelines.
Financially, Tommy Naquin said the 2020 audit deadline had been extended and the 2021 audit was ongoing; he did not foresee difficulty meeting the district’s Sept. 15 budget deadline. Regarding the recently authorized revenue anticipation note, public commenter Shondrell Perrilloux suggested a forensic audit and said she would alert the U.S. Department of Justice; district counsel and administration noted Bond Commission action was the next step.
On grants, Dominique Miller said the NIET application had not been approved because NIET lacked Department of Education approval; she presented two budget scenarios (with and without NIET funding). Mrs. Miller said ESSER funds could not be used for Master Teacher costs.
The Board convened an executive session at 8:03 p.m. to discuss two B.T.A. dockets, including B.T.A. Docket No. L00187, Arcelor Mittal LaPlace, LLC. After reconvening at 9:23 p.m., the Board voted to allow board counsel to negotiate a settlement in the Arcelor Mittal matter.