School Board will participate in Sheriff's Office crime initiative

Staff report
The St. Mary Parish School Board agreed Thursday to work with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office on a program designed to keep students out of trouble with the law.
The board authorized Assistant Superintendent Dr. Rachael Sanders to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the Sheriff’s Office to implement the Futures Project.
Also Thursday, the board recognized Students and Employees of the Month, accepted the results of last month’s sales tax renewal election and praised 14 teachers who will receive stipends under the Value Added Model program.
The Futures Project grew out of work performed under a Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative grant three years ago. The purpose of the program, which was terminated by the U.S. Department of Justice in April, was to provide “funding and technical assistance to rural law enforcement agencies seeking to reduce violent crime and address associated problems.”
Chief Deputy John Kahl told the board that officers discovered that juveniles account for a major share of violent crime in St. Mary.
Lt. Oscar West, the Sheriff’s Office juvenile officer, went to work, and eventually received juvenile court feedback that crime had been reduced by 20%.
“Our end goal is to see the success that Oscar is seeing parishwide,” Kahl said.
The Sheriff’s Office has developed a curriculum to help youngsters deal with conflicts, communicate and avoid situations likely to lead them into crime.
Kahl and West found support among board members.
“It’s amazing to think about what you all are doing to help improve St. Mary Parish and our communities,” board President Alaina Black of Morgan City said.
“I definitely believe in education over incarceration,” said member Lawrence Guillory of Centerville.
Election
The board took the necessary legal steps to accept the results of the Oct. 11 renewal of the 0.45% sales tax for teacher and support staff pay.
Voters in St. Mary approved the five-year renewal, effective July 1, 2026, by an 82%-18% margin. The tax raises $5.1 million a year.
Monthly honors
The board recognized its Students and Employees of the Month. The students are fourth-grader Cohen Plessala of Hattie Watts Elementary; eighth-grader Gracie Grizzaffi of Morgan City Junior High; and senior Amyrie’ Barabin of West St. Mary High. They’re all Students of the Year at their schools.
The Employees of the Month are teacher Caren Richard of Hattie Watts; Hamid Demdoum of Morgan City Junior High; and teacher Kendall Mouton of West St. Mary.
VAM
The Value Added Model uses test scores to identify teachers whose students out-perform the expected results. Those who achieve a score of 4 receive a $3,000 stipend.
The VAM honorees Thursday were:
•Heather Crappel, Bayou Vista Elementary.
•Nicole Boudreaux, Hattie Watts Elementary.
•Maria Wade, Hattie Watts Elementary.
•Mary Gilmore, Hattie Watts Elementary.
•Alyssa Rhodes, Hattie Watts Elementary.
•Maybelle Klein, Wyandotte Elementary.
•Stanley Williams-Tate, W.P. Foster Elementary.
•Kim Mire, Raintree Elementary.
•Chaquilla Coleman, Raintree Elementary.
•Renata Colar, Raintree Elementary.
•Angela Kulka, Berwick Junior High School.
•Carissa Domingue, Centerville School.
•Deseraye Johnson, Centerville School.
•Cedric Moore, Franklin Senior High School.