St. Bernard Parish School District

The meeting included the establishment of 2026 Committee Assignments. Key action items involved the approval of School Board Member Training Certificates and a certified School Board member for the 2025 calendar year. Furthermore, the Administration received approval to advertise to bid for several recurring supplies for the upcoming fiscal period, including Bread and Bread Products, Milk and Milk Products, Food Products, and Produce, for the period starting July 1, 2026. The Superintendent provided the General Fund Budget to Actual Report for January 2026.

The meeting included a discussion and action item regarding the Tabulation of Bids for the CHS CAC Library to Classrooms Conversion project. The Superintendent recommended awarding the contract to the lowest bidder, Tasch, LLC, at a cost of $2,570,000. The motion to approve this recommendation passed unanimously among voting members.

The proceedings covered a Special Meeting followed by a General Committee Meeting. The Special Meeting included an executive session to discuss the superintendent's evaluation, concluding with congratulations for a "wonderful" evaluation. The General Committee Meeting began with recognition of the late Mr. Mike Gennard and a moment of silence, followed by congratulations to Coach Butch Stockton for achieving his 800th career basketball win. The main discussion involved a detailed Head Start program update for the 2024-2025 school year, covering enrollment statistics, eligibility criteria, staff qualifications, child and health services (including required doctor/dentist visits and disability referrals), curriculum utilization, and family/community partnership metrics. Board members inquired about strategies for supporting diverse language needs, leading to a discussion on translation services and recruitment efforts for bilingual staff.

The meeting began with presentations, including a Communications Update featuring various student achievements and the proclamation of January 2026 as School Board Recognition Month. A significant portion of the meeting involved the election of officers for the calendar year 2026, resulting in Diana B Dysart being elected as President and Katherine K Lemoine as Vice-President. Action items focused heavily on adopting revisions for multiple School Board Policies (BCBB, DFK, DJE, EBBC, GBC, GBN, GBRA, JGCF) reflecting recent legislative changes, as well as adopting a resolution establishing the schedule for General Committee and Regular Monthly Board Meetings for 2026. The Board also authorized the newly elected President to sign on School Board Checking Accounts.

The meeting commenced with a moment of silence to honor three recently deceased community figures: Mr. Albert Kerry, Mr. Gus Reese, and Miss Charmaine Viviveret, who were noted for their significant contributions to the school system and community. Following this, the committee received updates on several completed and upcoming projects. Completed projects include the 100% installation of security film on glass fronts, the near-complete installation of controlled access card swipes, a completed waterproofing project at the Freshman Academy, and infrastructure upgrades including new concrete chain wall reinforcement at St. Bernard Middle School and HVAC replacements at the central office and Bobby Stadium. Upcoming projects include the installation of new video scoreboards and digital signage at Shamat High School between April and May 2026, a TV studio lighting upgrade next week, and a returf of the majority of the softball infield at Shamat High School. Additionally, the renovation project for the public library space at the cultural arts center, which will add seven new classrooms, is out for bid with the closing date of February 3rd. A special board meeting is planned for February 10th to tabulate and award the contract for this renovation project. Future plans include a comprehensive review of the HVAC system at Andrew Jackson Middle School.