Ben Mathis for St. Tammany Parish School Board

Don’t forget to vote today folks!!! I’ve got a great crew waving signs today! Give us a honk and Vote #95 for St. Tammany School Board District 10!

Come see me this Monday night! Free and open to the public. Would love to visit with you.

If you aren’t already registered to vote it isn’t too late! Visit geauxvote.com to register. You must register by October 18 to to vote in the November 8 election. Did you know that you don’t need an excuse to vote early? It’s easy and convenient! St. Tammany Parish registered voters can vote early beginning October 25-November 1 (except for that Sunday) at the following locations:

ST. TAMMANY JUSTICE
CENTER PARKING
GARAGE
601 N JEFFERSON AVE
COVINGTON, LA 70433

THE TOWERS BUILDING
520 OLD SPANISH TRAIL
SUITE 2F
SLIDELL. LA 70458

ST. TAMMANY
ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLEX
21490 KOOP DR - BUILDING A
(COUNCIL CHAMBERS)
MANDEVILLE, LA 70448

Did you know the St. Tammany Parish School Board has a double A (AA) bond rating? I learned that at last night’s meeting so wanted to share some good news. STPSB has one of the highest bond ratings among Louisiana school boards, which basically means we have a low chance of defaulting and that translates to lower bond interest rates. This is a great example of something good the board should be sharing with the public.

In other news, the board and superintendent are investigating an outsourcing company that claims it can provide more substitute teachers than we can recruit on our own and for less money. We do not have any written estimates or contracts to review yet but the company claims they can pay substitutes the current St. Tammany rate, offer them benefits similar to a full time employee, and hire at least one full time company representative who will reside in St Tammany and would focus on recruitment etc. The math does not add up to me. The current board recently increased the substitute teacher pay rates and I do not believe there has been enough time to accurately gauge the impact of those changes. Needless to say, I am highly skeptical this would be a good move.

Finally, I have noticed something in the meetings that bothers me. At the end of most meetings there is an agenda item for Public Comments. This is a time where members of the public can address the board and superintendent. I have noticed in the last few meetings that often questions are asked but no one from the board attempts to answer or even acknowledge the question. I think a great change to institute would be to hold the board accountable for those questions. I understand if they do not have immediate access to the information they need to answer but at least acknowledge and add a standing agenda item to the next meeting and address it there. What do you think?