Harlan Kirgan
After a year on the job as superintendent, Patrick Jenkins was given a Proficient rating by the School Board.
The evaluation of the superintendent was announced after an 90 minute closed session during Thursday’s School Board meeting.
Jenkins said, “I thought it was a good exercise. I think the scores were something not out of bounds of what I expected. Obviously, I’m not perfect. I’m made plenty of mistakes as superintendent along the way.”
Eight Board members gave Jenkins a Proficient rating and five evaluated him as Exemplary.
The scoring ranges were 40 to 36, Exemplary; 35 to 26, Proficient; 25 to 16, Developing/Needs Improvement; and 15 to 0, Unacceptable.
Jenkins’ average score from the Board was 33.4.
Details underlying the assessment were not made public, but individual Board member scores for Jenkins were released.
They were: Anthony Standberry, 35, Proficient; Charles Ross, 29, Proficient; Milton Ambres, 29, Proficient; Raymond Cassimere, 38, Exemplary; Candace Gerace, 35, Proficient; Donnie Perron, 36, Exemplary; Huey Wyble, 40, Exemplary; Kyle Boss, 29, Proficient; Hazel Sias, 28, Proficient; Roger Young, 37, Exemplary; Albert Hayes, 36, Exemplary; Mary Ellen Donatto, 30, Proficient; and Randy Wagley, 32, Proficient.
Jenkins was evaluated in seven areas: Mission, Vision and Goals; Planning and Assessment; Instructional Leadership; Organizational Leadership and Safety; Communication and Community Relations; Professionalism; and Division-wide Student Academic Progress.
Jenkins said one issue he took away from the evaluation is a need to improve his communication with the Board.
“I think that is going to make a big difference in how we move the district forward together,” he said.
“We are going to get better. This is my first year, so I had a lot to learn,” he said.
Jenkins was hired in October 2016 and officially assumed the helm of the school district in November 2016.
In recently released state performance scores, the parish ranked 55th in the state out of 70 districts and was a C district. St. Landry Parish district performance scores have shown little growth since 2015 when the score was 71.1. This year the school district had a 71.7 score.
The overall state grade was B, an increase from C in 2016. The state score is 86.8, up from 83 in 2016.
Eunice Board member Mary Ellen Donatto said Jenkins will see his evaluation rise as the parish’s struggling schools raise their performance scores.
“You don’t perform miracles in a year in academics,” she said.
Jenkins is leading a bid to raise property taxes to fund pay raises and a building program.
In November, the Board approved a plan for an election on a 11.4-mill, 10-year property tax proposal to raise $7 million annually to fund pay raises; and a 20-year, 12.4-mill tax to fund a $99 million bond issue for capital improvements.
The election is scheduled March 24.