The St. Landry Parish School Board was reaching the end of its agenda Thursday and there had been no discussion on the opening of the district’s first virtual school session on Tuesday.
Catching the omission was Board member Raymond Cassimere.
“I was just concerned because we have a big transition this year and I thought I would have gotten some type of discussion ...” he said.
He added, “I’m just concerned about how this is going. Are there some red flags? I know we are not going to be perfect, but is there something we are running across that may cause problems?”
Adding the item to the agenda needed a unanimous vote and when the vote taken Board member Josh Boudreaux voted “no.”
Eunice Board member, Albert Hayes Jr., poked at Boudreaux as he voted, “So, if I vote ‘no’ does that mean I don’t care what happens as far as the opening of the schools?”
Hayes came up with a solution after the vote suggesting Superintendent Patrick Jenkins surely neglected to discuss the school opening in his comments.
Jenkins agreed that he had neglected and with the approval of legal counsel Courtney Joiner briefed the Board about the historic virtual opening.
Chrome books are being distributed along with 4,000 hot spots that allow internet and wifi access.
“Every student should have a device,” he said.
The parish will be the first to be 100% virtual, he said.
Earlier in the meeting, the Board approved teachers and para-professionals to wear scrubs immediately.
