In a recent gathering of the Webster Parish School Board (WPSB) on February 5, key achievements and decisions were addressed at the Harper Pathways to Excellence Center. All board members except Charles Strong of District 3 and Debbie Thomas of District 2 were present.
Teacher Lessie Brown from Minden High School earned the Employee of the Month distinction, acknowledged by Kevin Thompson of Taylor and Sons. Specifics of her commendation will be detailed in a forthcoming Minden Press-Herald article.
The board also celebrated Joshua Hasty, a 10th-grade student at Lakeside High School, for achieving four Microsoft Office credentials within two semesters, a first in Webster Parish. His teacher Lesa Ward spoke, saying, “This is one of the finest young men I’ve ever had the pleasure to teach. He deserves every accolade he gets.” Ms. Ward recently took 23 students from Lakeside to the FBLA rally; all 23 will be advancing to the state competition. Hasty took 2nd place in Excel.
Superintendent Johnny Rowland then read a resolution recognizing Lakeside Jr/Sr High School for attaining an ‘A’ status from the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE). Numerous members of the faculty and staff of Lakeside Jr/Sr High came out to accept the resolution. Lakeside Jr/Sr High is the first school in the Webster Parish school district to earn this distinction.
Further approvals included a funding request for early childhood seats, a NASA field trip for Richardson Elementary School’s fifth graders, and trips for administrators to the NIET conference in Dallas.
Eighth-grade students of Webster Jr High School were greenlit for an educational journey to the Little Rock High School National Historic Site and the William J. Clinton Library and Museum. Additionally, sixth-grade students from the same school received approval for a trip to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Medieval Times in Dallas.
The Minden High School Band of Pride secured approval to participate in the Mardi Gras Parade in Marshall, Texas, with all expenses covered by spirit groups. The Minden High School JROTC will embark on a funded field trip to San Antonio, Texas.
Financial matters included the approval of a $152,817.02 invoice from Homeland Safety for their yearly service contract fee, covering security camera management in the district.
Results of the Clean Campus, Safe School, and Lawn of the Month competitions were shared, with various schools earning distinctions in different categories. On the south end of the parish, Lakeside Jr/Sr High School won Clean Campus and Lawn of the Month, and Richardson Elementary School won Safe School. On the north end of the parish, North Webster Upper Elementary School won Clean Campus, Brown Upper Elementary School won Safe School, and North Webster Junior High School won Lawn of the Month. Ms. Hullaby and members of the board will tour schools again in March to pick the next winners.
Superintendent Johnny Rowland provided updates on the upcoming school calendars and discussed plans to make up for days missed due to inclement weather in January. After checking on the number of instructional minutes that are needed, Rowland believes that just a few extra minutes per day would be needed to make up the time missed. “The most that we would have to add if we begin Monday would be four minutes,” said Rowland.
The next WPSB meeting is scheduled for March 4. The public is welcome to attend.