By Jim Wilkerson
The Lincoln Parish School Board convened Sept. 7 for its first scheduled monthly meeting since the school year began. Despite the unpredictability of COVID regulations and the pandemic, the school year has had a relatively smooth start.
Superintendent Ricky Durrett did note that some students were still unaccounted for, but this is a normal part of each school year.
“We always have students missing each year,” Durrett said. “This is mainly because school systems do not start at the same time and schools don’t always request records until the school year starts.” Durrett pointed out that Union Parish just started school this Tuesday, so the Lincoln Parish School Board is only now getting records requests from Union Parish for transferred students.
Durrett also mentioned to those attending the meeting that the number of students with COVID dropped from 62 at the end of the first week to around 43 last week. When asked how he arrived at those figures, Durrett replied, “We get these numbers from parents calling the school and letting us know why a student is absent.”
Durrett went on to say that students are not being tested at the school and that it is the parent’s responsibility to have their children tested.
Masks will continue to be required for all children K-12, though, since Governor John Bel Edwards’ mask mandate is still in effect.
“We will continue to follow it as long as the Governor keeps extending,” Durrett explained. “If students have a medical condition, then we allow them to [stay] homebound for education.”
To attend classes in person, students will be required to have a mask on.
“We feel the masks are working and students are not spreading the virus in our schools at this time,” Durrett continued.
When asked if the school board is considering requiring proof of vaccination for its students, Durrett responded they are not.
“The vaccination is a personal choice. If parents decide to vaccinate the child then we certainly think that is great, but it is a parent’s choice,” he said.
Faculty and staff have been encouraged to get vaccinated, but Durrett said the school board understands that employees may have several reasons for not vaccinating.
Further, the school board is currently working on replacing any and all of the outdated computers at the school system, though this may take some time.
Durrett asked the teachers for patience: “As you know, when we order something, sometimes we can get it. Sometimes it takes six to eight months.”
While teachers may be frustrated at the time it will take to replace their old computers, their frustration may perhaps be subsided with the unexpected $325 September stipend for all Lincoln Parish classroom teachers. For those wondering, the stipend came from a federal competitive grant program, the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF).
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