School Board tweaks agreement selling M.D. Shannon to Morgan City

CENTERVILLE -- The St. Mary Parish School Board on Thursday approved revisions in the agreement by which the former M.D. Shannon Elementary would be sold to the Morgan City government.

The agreement approved by the School Board calls for the sale of the historic school, closed since 2016 because of declining enrollment, to the city for $100,000. The city would pay $2,777.78 each month for three years.

The proposal came to the board from Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna. He proposed the purchase of the school and the city block on which it sits to the city government, which uses the Shannon Gym for youth sports and other events.

Dragna's proposal also included a plan to divide the half of the block behind the school into 16 lots for residential development.

There was even an Easter egg for tree-lovers. Dragna talked about moving a large oak on the property out of the way and on to Lawrence Park, where an oak tree had split and had to be removed.

In an email Friday, Superintendent Dr. Teresa Bagwell said the revisions approved Thursday linked the payments to the annual city appropriations and changed the School Board's means of seeking recourse if the city stops paying during the three-year term.

"The original agreement allowed the board to take back ownership of the property which would be problematic for the city given their plans to sell lots," Bagwell wrote. "Thus, the new agreement provides the board the option to 'have all rights available to it under law. The School Board shall be entitled to reasonable legal fees for any such action. ...'

"Given the significance of these revisions, [Chief Financial Officer Alton Perry] and I determined that the board needed to be advised and approve said revisions."

The board approved the revisions on a voice vote without opposition.

The agreement now awaits action by the Morgan City Council.

Also Thursday, the board heard about ways in which inflation is affecting its operations.

The board agreed to buy insurance for its buildings and their contents for the coming year through Frank's Agency. The annual premium for coverage of property valued at $343.4 million will be about $1.27 million. The premium was $775,000 in 2019 and is up by $245,000 from the current year.

And that's when a district can get insurance. Information presented to the board Thursday included a list of 26 insurance carriers that are no long doing business in Louisiana or charge prohibitive premiums after a string of destructive storms.

The board did get a break on its workers compensation insurance. The annual premium there will be about $87,000, down from $89,000 this year. The cost of hiring CAS to administer claims remains unchanged at about $19,000, as does hiring RiskWise for safety and loss prevention at $10,000.

The annual savings achieved by operating a self-funded program is estimated at $550,000.

"We have saved millions of dollars over the last 20 years by doing this," board member Michael Taylor said.

The rising cost of gas prices since Russia invaded Ukraine prompted board President Kenneth Alfred to ask Perry whether the board could be affected.

Perry said he isn't sure about whether rising fuel tax revenue would benefit the board. But he said the central office was forced to raise the limit Thursday on the credit cards that bus drivers use to buy gasoline.

Thursday's meeting was also the occasion for celebration:

--Tammie L. Moore of Four Corners took the oath of office as a School Board member. Moore has served as an interim board member since Sylvia Lockett died in October. Moore qualified without opposition to run for the remainder of the term, which runs through this year, in the March 26 election.

Judge Curtis Sigur administered the oath. Moore's father, Lynel Wilson, was at her side with a Bible during the ceremony.

--The board presented plaques to Teachers of the Year Alicia Williams of Hattie Watts Elementary, Crystal Guidry of Patterson Junior High and Ponchella Doucet of Franklin High, and to Principal of the Year Ronnie Louis of B.E. Boudreaux Middle School.

--The board recognized its Students of the Month and Employees of the Month. The students are Wyandotte Elementary fifth-grader Hudson Gorman, Franklin Junior High eighth-grader Caliss Williams and Patterson High senior Keatyn Harden. The employees are Jordan Lee of Wyandotte, Lakessa Cooks of Franklin Junior High and Gina Marshall of Patterson High.

--Berwick High sophomore Cherish Lewis received a certificate recognizing the publication of her poem, "A Broken Home." The poem appears in the national publication Expressions, which features poetry written by young people.

The poem speaks about a large and wealthy nation beset by problems such as homelessness. The last line: "328 million people in a broken home."