After nearly an hour of School Board discussion conducted in public view on Thursday night, St. Landry Parish Superintendent Milton Batiste III was granted a proposed contract extension which is scheduled to remain effective until Dec. 31, 2028.
At this point the revised employment contract between Batiste and school board members is still awaiting a final draft whose details will be negotiated among Batiste, board president Randy Wagley and board attorney Courtney Joiner.
The amended contract which includes the extension still requires final Board approval at perhaps a committee meeting and another regular board meeting, Batiste said on Friday.
Joiner explained on Thursday night that he should have an extension draft that will soon be available for board members to review before their required vote.
Batiste told the Board that he is not requesting a salary increase above the $160,000 he now earns annually since his selection as superintendent in March, 2023.
However the current contract for Batiste is scheduled to end June 30, 2027.
Batiste said he wanted to request the extension in order to achieve both personal and administrative stability for the District.
On Friday Batiste said that beginning in 2027, most of the current board members will no longer be seated due to expired terms, so the extension will provide more time for him to begin working with essentially a new Board.
The District is also set to present a 9.9 millage increase proposal before voters on May 16, which school officials say is needed for maintenance, student safety, athletic facility updates and annual employee raises.
Joiner indicated that the Board decision on Thursday night is just one step in the amended contract process.
“There will be no change in terms from the original contract, but the Board will need to agree on time (of the contract). There will also be a time required for the contract to be amended,” said Joiner.
Board members Bianca Vedell and Hazel Sias questioned the need to approve the contract extension on Thursday night.
Sias explained that she preferred to have the issue discussed first before a Finance Committee, while Vedell said she thought board members should have the opportunity to view an extension proposal before committing their votes.
Both Vedell and Sias said their opposition to the process on Thursday had nothing to do with the performance that Batiste has exhibited as superintendent.
“I would like to have in hand what I am being asked to extend. It would be nice to be able to see whatever it is,” said Vedell, who abstained from agreeing to the extension.
Batiste said his request for an extension was necessary.
“All (Batiste) is asking for is to complete the work that’s being done. He’s not asking for anything except more time. (Batiste) has his staff in place and we are seeing the progress that is being made,” said board member Anthony Standberry.
Some board members thought that Batiste should have requested to move into a closed session when the issue could have been discussed privately among board members, but Batiste told the Board that he felt the matter should be presented in an open meeting context.
