St. Mary school enrollment down only slightly

CENTERVILLE — “The official count of kindergarten through 12th-grade students in St. Mary Parish is 8,175,” Dr. Theresa Bagwell, St. Mary Parish Schools Superintendent, informed board members in her Superintendent’s Report given at the School Board meeting Thursday night.
This number is a decrease of 67 students from the 2018 count.
“The official student count was taken on Oct. 1 and is used by the Louisiana Department of Education to set budget measures for MFP calculations,” Bagwell said.
MFP stands for Minimum Foundation Program. Under the program, Louisiana annually adopts a formula to equitably allocate funding for education to school districts as a block grant. After satisfying all mandated requirements, school districts have the flexibility to spend the funding to meet the needs of their schools and students.
A decrease in student population could mean a decrease in funding.
A majority of Thursday night’s meeting of the board took place behind closed doors. The executive session was regarding a case styled Boudreaux, et al v. School Board of St. Mary Parish, et al, docket number 6:65-11351, United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division.
Before moving into executive session, the board approved field trips for Berwick High School students to travel to Washington, D.C., for Close-up Foundation and for Franklin Junior High School students to travel to San Antonio, Texas.
The board accepted a proclamation to accept School Bus Safety Week for Oct. 22-26 that was presented by Michael Ortiz.
A proclamation was also accepted for Veterans Day on Nov. 11 stating “that the St. Mary Parish School Board recognizes the contributions of our nation’s military and devoted service to the citizens of the United States and applauds our parish schools who commemorate Veteran’s Day with ceremonies, classroom activities, and moments of silence honoring our heroes,” said Amber Monceaux as she presented the proclamation.