Board OKs funds for remedial courses
NEW IBERIA — The Iberia Parish School Board unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday that takes $505,000 of tobacco settlement funds to pay for summer remedial courses.
Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Carey Laviolette told the board that the state used to pay for summer remediation classes for students who failed the Louisiana Education Assessment Program, Graduation Exit Exam and end-of-course tests. She said the state requires these remedial courses be provided for free to students, but starting this year the school system has to provide the funding.
“Yet again, this is another unfunded mandate,” Laviolette said.
School Board members have spoken out about the state forcing the parish to pay such expenses in the past. At the Jan. 4 meeting, the board approved a resolution asking the state to stop handing down these mandates. The largest of the unfunded mandates is the teacher retirement system, which was the major part of the school system’s $3.7 million deficit reported in February 2011.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board unanimously accepted the proposed School Board redistricting plan.
Demographer and former Lafayette Parish School Board member Mike Hefner said the plan’s boundaries are similar to the ones the Iberia Parish Council approved last year. The plan will be sent to the U.S. Justice Department for clearance before it can receive final approval.
Hefner said the shifts in population have changed some of the boundaries, but he tried to keep them as close to the present lines as possible.
Board member Kenric Fremin said he was concerned about a section of the proposed map that dips into Vermilion Parish.
Hefner said there are some residents who live in Vermilion Parish but are registered to vote in Iberia Parish.
He said there may be a dispute between the parishes over the physical boundaries that has not been settled. Hefner said he included a boundary showing the disputed area, but will not use the voters there as a part of the reapportionment plan.
He said including those voters in the past has caused problems with the U.S. Justice Department, which has different maps on record for the area.
Hefner also said that he designed the redistricting map so it will not be affected too much if the Vermilion Parish voters are added.
He did not say how many Iberia Parish voters live on the Vermilion Parish side of the boundary.
Fremin said the dispute has been going on for more than 100 years, noting that these residents vote in Iberia Parish but pay their taxes in Vermilion Parish.
Board members Jesse McDonald and Danny Segura were absent from Wednesday’s meeting.