By Harlan Kirgan
Editor
OPELOUSAS — “I’ll try to be as brief as possible,” said Jamal Taylor, president of the St. Landry Association of Educators, which is one of the unions representing School Board employees.
The brief of it was Taylor was asking to be paid for a day and half that he was docked because he was away from job for union business.
“I came here to the Board in January. I asked for some leave days,” he said at Monday’s School Board Executive Committee meeting.
Taylor said the administration said it would bring the matter back to the Board for a policy change.
The policy has not been changed and Taylor, Board members and administrators discussed the docked pay for about an hour.
Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said the issue involved a policy on professional leave.
Taylor said his leave is covered by a policy on professional organizations.
The policy cited by Jenkins covers education conferences and conventions and requires a supervisor’s approval.
The other policy is for professional associations and references Board approval.
Jenkins and Tressa Miller, finance director, said Taylor needed to present documentation before and after being absent.
Taylor said he has documentation that he would be happy to provide to the chairwoman, Mary Ellen Donatto, and the committee members, Donnie Perron and Hazel Sias. The other committee member, Albert Hayes Jr., was not at the meeting.
Jenkins said, “So, if there was a request for leave that was written and provided to myself to deliver to the Board or vice versa given to the Board for approval then someone would have that.”
Donatto said Taylor came to the Board in January and the policy says that is what’s required.
Taylor said, “I think I could go down this rabbit hole today of discussing the number of emails, the number letters, the number of texts that I’ve sent regarding things I have no, absolutely zero response ....”
Sias called the situation “just too much mess” and said Taylor should be paid.
Board member Donnie Perron said the Board by acting would be in danger of facing every employee with a similar complaint.
“You have to go through our supervisor,” Perron said about leave approval.
Jenkins, at one point, said, “We don’t have the rest of the story ...”
And Taylor later responded he was troubled by the questioning of his integrity.
Miller said a paper trail is needed to pay Taylor and there needs to be proof of advance approval.
“It is going to be in the minutes,” Sias said.
In the end, Donatto and Sias sided with Taylor to grant him the pay. Perron voted against paying Taylor.
The full Board is to decide the pay issue at its June 6 meeting.