| Current Poll |
Are you keeping your New Year's resolutions?
View Results
|
|
Story Archives: School board hears reports, ag forecast
- 2013 - 320 articles
- 2012 - 1160 articles
- 2011 - 1177 articles
- 2010 - 810 articles
- 2009 - 779 articles
- 2008 - 949 articles
|
School board hears reports, ag forecast
In a meeting of wide-ranging topics, Carol Pinnell-Alison of the LSU AgCenter, shared a bleak agriculture forecast for producers in the area during the regular meeting of the Franklin Parish School Board.
Alison is the county agent, and parish chairman of the LSU AgCenter and was the first speaker during the meeting held Monday night.
"We are continuing to work with local producers of cotton, soy beans and corn in an effort to help them cut costs of production," said Alison, "especially cotton and corn is not far behind. We are going to try proactive and innovative ways to help the farmer save money."
Alison also reminded board members that the majority of corn produced locally is sold to chicken houses. Allison stated the closing of Pilgrim's Pride would no doubt have an effect on local farmers.
The LSU AgCenter is also in line to receive additional state budget cuts in the coming year.
"In the state budget, LSU AgCenter falls under higher education," said Alison, "though we cannot raise fees through tuition the way a campus can. We have already taken a 25 percent reduction in the budget for the AgCenter, with a possible 15-30 percent in additional cuts to come in the future."
Monitors from the Louisiana Department of Education visited campuses for two and a half days last week. According to Supt. Lanny Johnson, representatives from Baton Rouge monitored among other things, the school lunch program.
"They were both very complementary of the order of things," said Johnson, "they go through each lunch application and found very few findings. Mary Wallace and Tony Marzell have done that in the absence of Carol Eskew and we should commend them for the glowing report from the monitors."
Officials from Franklin and ten other parish schools attended a meeting in Shreveport last week with representatives of the Recovery School District to discuss the memorandum of understanding. In an effort to bring the school up to par, members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a memorandum of understanding for Winnsboro Elementary during their December board meeting.
"The MOU is a plan that consists of following the Louisiana curriculum guidelines to make the most of instructional time," said Johnson. "The services of JBHM Consulting firm have been obtained to help facilitate the plan that we will submit to the state for approval. They can amend the plan or give additional information, we're not sure what will happen next."
Pam McBroom of Head Start requested approval and acceptance of the budget and refunding application, training and technical assistance plan and the criteria for selection applications for the 2009-2010 school year. She also presented members with the community assessment, self assessment and program improvement plan for Head Start and requested permission to sell the 1997 Dodge pickup. Board members unanimously accepted all reports presented by Pam McBroom and granted permission to sell the truck.
A Head Start Roundup will be held in the auditorium of Winnsboro Elementary on March 26-27, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Parents and guardians of children 3 and 4-years of age are encouraged to enroll them in the Head Start program.
The Academic Achievement Awards Banquet is tentatively slated for Thursday, April 30, 2009.
In other news, board members passed a resolution to request to request the balance for the Read 180 grant from the tobacco settlement funds. The grant will be used to complete classrooms for the Read 180 project. |
|
|
E-mail Story
Print Story
