SPSB Approves Several Measures
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The St. Landry Parish School Board will now provide additional compensation for cheerleading sponsors, while giving bidders a chance to lease District-owned property for hunting in the northern portion of the parish.
Board members took action on those items last week in addition to approving a request by Superintendent Milton Batiste III to repurpose the Opelousas Middle School site as an annex and learning center.
All three items during the last Thursday night meeting were approved for action by board members during a series of committee meetings in February.
Cheerleading Sponsor Stipends
There was little discussion concerning this item after board members listened to separate Finance Committee and regular board meeting presentations by Beau Chene cheerleader Sadie Devalcourt.
During the committee meetings, Devalcourt delivered an emotional speech in which she detailed the hours and dedication that cheerleaders and their school sponsors spend in support of athletics and civic projects.
Batiste said that high school and middle school sponsors of cheerleading groups will receive about $1,000 each.
Last year board member Robert Gautreaux introduced the idea of providing cheerleaders’ sponsors with extra pay, but Gautreaux didn’t pursue the matter any further since Batiste had just been hired as superintendent.
In February Gautreaux said that most parishes surrounding St. Landry are providing stipends for cheerleading sponsors.
Beau Chene senior Cameron Clark told the Committee in February that cheerleaders should be considered a competitive activity.
Hunting Lease
Without any discussion the Board agreed to advertise leasing the 642 acres in the Melville-Palmetto area at a minimum of $25 per acre.
Operations Director Spencer Arnaud said bids for the hunting lease would be opened sometime in April.
Batiste told the Finance Committee in February that the prices for the lease could be discussed on an annual basis.
Middle School Annex
The Opelousas Middle School property facing East South Street won’t be used for regular education classes following the end of the 2024-25 school year.
Students now attending Opelousas Middle will be transferred to Creswell Middle School as part of a consolidation process approved by the Board during a special meeting in February.
Batiste said he prefers to use the vacated OMS site as a professional learning center for District personnel and a child nutrition annex.
There could also be further dedicated purposes for the building, Batiste added.
Although the building is located in a prime real estate location, Batiste discouraged any thought of selling the property at this point.
Board member Hazel Sias said during the Committee meeting that the OMS property might also be used as classroom space for students who previously dropped out of school or wanted to obtain their graduate equivalency diploma.
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