UPDATED: Parish president says he'll continue to oppose school sales tax

FRANKLIN — Parish President David Hanagriff on Wednesday pledged to oppose the St. Mary School Board’s proposed sales tax increase all the way to election day.
“I’m going to be against it,” Hanagriff told the St. Mary Parish Council, “and I’m going to talk about it at every meeting.”
The proposed 0.45% sales tax will appear on the March 20 ballot across the parish. The tax’s stated purpose is to fund a $3,000 annual raise for certified board employees, mostly teachers, and a $1,500 raise for other employees. The tax will raise an estimated $4 million a year.
School Board members and administrators have said the raises are necessary to attract and keep good employees.
Hanagriff said he’s opposing the tax for two reasons. One is his feeling that the timing is wrong for a tax increase.
The parish has struggled economically for more than six years since oil prices dropped from more than $100 per barrel to $40 or less, hampering the offshore energy production on which thousands of St. Mary rely. Economic restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic pushed parish unemployment over 14% in April 2019.
The St. Mary jobless rate in December was still at 7.9%.
Hanagriff also feels the School Board hasn’t done enough to reduce spending before asking voters to approve the tax. Board members haven’t been willing to compromise on a more palatable tax proposal, Hanagriff said.
He also objected to what he said are attempts to characterize tax opponents as being anti-teacher. Hanagriff noted this his wife is a teacher.
“I’m clearly not against the teachers of St. Mary Parish …,” Hanagriff said. “They shouldn’t use the teachers that way.”
Parish Councilman Craig Mathews supported Hanagriff’s position.
“I agree our School Board has been derelict” on matters of finance and operation, Mathews said.
St. Mary Superintendent Teresa Bagwell emailed this response Thursday morning.
“The St. Mary Parish School Board has both compromised on a sales tax proposition with parish and state officials throughout the formulation of the ballot measure and taken into consideration the state of the economy.
“Additionally, the board has moved to enact fiscally responsible measures to cut spending and operate the school system in a budget conscious manner. The Minimum Foundation Program that serves as the foundation of all school district budgeting has remained steady for several years despite the added costs incurred by local systems in educating children.
“Further, the St. Mary Parish School System remains at one of the lowest funded systems in dedicated parish revenue in the state. The 2021 sales tax measure of .45% is the first to be submitted to voters since 1988 and is solely dedicated to the salaries and benefits of teachers and support personnel. While the school system recognizes the timing of such a measure, it is also incumbent upon the district that we offer our children a certified teacher in every classroom and without a competitive beginning salary or an average salary that is near the state average, this is inherently difficult.”
The School Board first moved to place a 0.5% sales tax before voters in December 2019. The original proposal was to fund the staff raises as well as support a technology fund.
In response to opposition from Hanagriff, state Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, and others, the board trimmed the proposal to 0.45% and dropped the technology fund.
After the hoped-for spring 2020 election was delayed by COVID-19 restrictions, the board withdrew the tax from consideration last year when members felt the ballot language from the Secretary of State’s Office wasn’t accurate.
The School Board voted in November to put the 0.45% sales tax with no technology funding on the March 20 ballot. Early voting will be 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. March 6-13 except for Sunday, March 7.
In other business, the council accepted three planning and zoning recommendations:
—The subdivision of property at 10501 La. 87 in Jeanerette, zoned for single-family residential.
—The subdivision of property at 1004 Big Four Corners Road in Jeanerette, zoned agricultural.
—The rezoning of 12 properties between 259 and 301 Darwin Road in Centerville from existing neighborhood to agricultural.
Also Wednesday:
—The council said farewell to retiring County Agent Jimmy Flanagan, who will leave the post soon.
Flanagan, who was a drum major for the LSU Marching Band in the early 1970s, farmed in north Louisiana and Arkansas before joining the LSU AgCenter in 1996 in Iberia Parish. He came to St. Mary Parish soon afterward.
He plans to continue to do consulting work and research.
—The council applauded the work of Jessica Randazzo, the parish nutrition agent.
Randazzo has helped create gardens at parish schools, and surplus produce is sometimes donated to the St. Mary Council on Aging.
She has also worked with the SNAP-Ed program, which is designed to help recipients of Supplement Nutrition Assistant Program, or food stamp, benefits stretch their food dollars with healthier meals.
Councilman J Ina, the principal at Franklin Junior High, said Randazzo helped start a 4-H program at the school.
“She has done a phenomenal job,” Ina said.
—The council approved a $100,000 payment for a new Baldwin firetruck. The money was appropriated but not spent in a previous budget.