School Board introduced to staffers in new posts

CENTERVILLE — As a new classroom year got underway last week, the St. Mary Parish School Board on Thursday recognized staffers who hold new positions.
Superintendent Dr. Buffy Fegenbush got a new job, too.
Fegenbush is now the School Board’s representative to the parish’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program Committee. The alternate is board President Alaina Black.
From 2016 until this year, employers seeking a property tax exemption for a new or expanding enterprise were required to get approval from local governments affected by the temporary loss of tax revenue.
New Gov. Jeff Landry instituted new rules for the exemption program, creating committees composed of representatives of local governments in each parish. The governor will be able to override the decision made by the parish committees.
Also Thursday, board members were introduced by Human Resource Director Kristina Estay to people in new staff positions:
—Janet Francois, dean of students at Wyandotte Elementary. Francois started work in St. Mary as a paraprofessional, then earned her education degree. She has served as a teacher, librarian at SEL coach at M.E. Norman, Patterson Junior High and W.P. Foster.
—Monique Estay, dean of students at W.P. Foster. Certified in health and physical education and special education. Estay is also an Air Force veteran.
—Ashley Clark, second instruction supervisor and parish athletic director. Clark has served as teacher, coach, athletic director, interim principal and principal at West St. Mary High in 22 years at the school.
—Almetria Pierce Stansbury, coordinator of second special services. Another paraprofessional who earned teacher certification, she’s a longtime resource teacher with a background in special education. She earned her leadership degree and became assistant principal at Patterson Junior High.
—Jill Tamporello, McKinney Vento liaison. Tamporello began her teaching career at Morgan City Junior High and then Berwick Junior High. She completed her training to be a school counselor and served in that post at both schools.
—Suzette Charpentier, West St. Mary High principal. Charpentier served in the National Guard before becoming a teacher. She taught fourth grade and PE in St. Mary before becoming West St. Mary’s assistant principal.
—John Campbell, assistant principal at West St. Mary High. A former corrections officer in the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, Campbell has worked as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, transportation and sports official. He has worked in both middle and high schools.
—Charles Foulcard, assistant principal at Patterson Junior High. Foulcard began teaching at the elementary level. After earning his master’s in education leadership, he became an assistant principal at Bayou Vista Elementary and Hattie Watts Elementary and principal at Hernandez Elementary.
—Helena Salmon, assistant principal at Hattie Watts Elementary. Salmon started her career in education as a middle school social studies teacher. She taught in Terrebonne and St. Martin and was an assistant principal in Assumption. In St. Mary she has served as a department head and member of the curriculum development and leadership teams.
The School Board also applauded teachers for their standing in the Value Added Model 4 program. Known as VAM4, the program uses a variety of measures to gauge teacher performance.
The teachers include Amy Gilliam, Franklin Junior High; May Klein, Wyandotte Elementary; Rachel Aucoin, Berwick Elementary; and Michele Colley, B.E. Boudreaux Middle.
Also Thursday, Fegenbush told board members that the opening of school Aug. 7 went smoothly.
“It was truly uplifting to see everything go so perfectly,” Fegenbush said.
To meet the demands of the continuing federal desegregation case, the school system launched a systemwide re-enrollment before the start of classes. Fegenbush told the board that all but 240 of the more than 7,200 public school students have been re-enrolled. The remaining students have been provisionally enrolled while the system works with the families to ensure the students are attending school in their attendance zones.