BOARD BRIEFS: March Board Meeting

The Ouachita Parish School Board approved two cooperative endeavor agreements during Tuesday’s regular board meeting.

The School Board approved a cooperative endeavor agreement with the State of Louisiana to provide funding for media room furnishings at West Ouachita High ($140k), new instruments for West Monroe High band and orchestra ($75k) and locker room renovations at West Monroe High ($120k).

A cooperative endeavor agreement with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office will allow Ouachita Parish Schools to donate two retired buses to the law enforcement agency for safety training activities.

The School Board also approved an agreement to convey 408 acres of Board-owned land north of Cheniere Lake for 174.5 acres of land adjacent to Woodlawn Elementary.

Differentiated Pay

The School Board agreed to award differentiated pay to classroom teachers who meet certain criteria. This one-time salary stipend was allocated by the Louisiana Legislature and will be paid to all highly effective classroom teachers, classroom teachers in critical shortage areas as determined by BESE, classroom teachers in schools with a rate of economically disadvantaged students at 85 percent or above, and/or classroom teachers in teacher leadership positions.

Policies Updates

The School Board approved an update to policy EFAB (Employee and Student Acceptable Use Policy for Artificial Intelligence.) The updated policy and the policy manual are available at opsb.net.  

Architects Approved

The School Board approved architects for the following construction projects:

·         West Monroe High Greenhouse, TBA Studios

·         West Monroe High roof replacement, The Architecture Alliance Group

·         Lenwil Elementary bathroom renovations, TBA Studios

The School Board named TBA Studios as the Architect/Engineer of Record for all pending construction repairs related to facility damage from Winter Storm Fern.

Personnel Report

The following personnel were named and will begin their new assignments with the 2026-2027 school year:

·         Woodlawn Elementary principal Jane Biggs, Director of Elementary Schools

·         Robinson Elementary principal Angela Spivey, Interim Title I Supervisor

·         Shady Grove Elementary principal Janitra Underwood, principal of Robinson Elementary

·         Swayze Elementary principal Dr. Dana Jenkins, principal of Shady Grove Elementary

Principal positions were opened today at Sterlington Middle and Woodlawn Elementary.

Special Recognitions

The School Board recognized two employees in Student Support Services who were chosen by their peers to represent Ouachita Parish Schools in the 2026 Louisiana School Health Service Provider of the Year awards program. Physical Therapist Abby Comeaux Russell and Occupational Therapist Mary Margaret Hildebrand were both named state finalists in the program and will compete for the state title this summer.

Building Bridges Grants

The West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce Adopt-A-School Program partnered with Pattern Energy-Southern Spirit Transmission and a private donor to award 11 Building Bridges grants to Ouachita Parish Schools teachers.

The grants totaled over $4,600 and allow teachers to enhance learning and engage students while providing evidenced outcomes of success and learning enrichment.

·         Lindsay Spillers, Central Elementary

·         Misty Holyfield, Central Elementary

·         Lindsay Reynolds, Robinson Elementary

·         Dvawn Maza, Shady Grove Elementary

·         Crystal McBride, Calhoun Middle

·         Krystin Louis, Riser Middle

·         Virginia Koonce, West Ridge Middle

·         Lisa Sims, Woodlawn Junior

·         Shelby Augustine, Ouachita High

·         Allison Lovelady, West Monroe High

·         Lt. Col. Mark S. Hart, West Monroe High

The School Board evaluated bids on the following items:

Bid Item                                              Funding Source          Budget Amount
Jack Hayes Canopy                              ES Bond                         $900,000
WOHS Roof Replacement                     M&O                              $675,000                               
Kiroli Roof Replacement                       M&O                              $375,000
Sensory Playground Surfacing             IDEAB                             $320,000
Architect/Engineer of Record             

The School Board granted permission to bid on the following items:

Bid Item                                                          Funding Source          Budget Amount
WMHS Riggs Road Parking Lot                          WOST                             $1,100,000
Lenwil Elementary Bathroom Renovations    WOST                             $395,000
WOHS Media Room Furnishings                       La. Dept. of Treasury   $140,000
Band Instruction Bid                                           La. Dept. of Treasury   $75,000