Menu

St. Martin Parish special meeting, date not confirmed yet

1 h 01 min · 0 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 01 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

St. Martin Parish school board adopts budget for year ending June 30th, 2027 7:59

  • The board considered adoption of the budget for the general and special revenue funds for the year ending June 30th, 2027, after a public hearing at which no questions were raised. 7:59
  • A district staff member said the budget had been brought down to a $500,000, almost $600,000 deficit, and speakers discussed possible savings in transportation and travel. 8:15
  • The staff member said the budget had to be adopted by September 15th and could be amended any time afterward. 51:08
  • One board member recommended passing the budget and amending it later if needed, and the motion passed. 59:31

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and agenda 7:04
    • The meeting opened with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. ~7:08
    • The presiding speaker said there were no additions or deletions to the agenda. 7:41
  2. Public hearing on budget 7:41
    • The presiding speaker opened a public hearing on the budget and invited questions from the public. 7:41
    • No questions were raised. ~7:59
  3. Budget presentation and deficit 7:59
    • A district finance staff member said the budget deficit had been brought down to $500,000, almost $600,000, partly because salaries and benefits had been overestimated based on last year's numbers. 8:15
    • The staff member said $200,000 was cut from maintenance because the district has bond money. 9:01
    • The staff member said the district is not required to amend a budget until revenues fall below 5% or expenses exceed 5%. 11:30
  4. State funding and sales tax supplements 12:14
    • The finance staff member said the average state funding is $6,100 a student and that salaries and benefits are 85% of the total budget. 12:23
    • A speaker suggested using more sales tax funds for salaries and giving fewer supplements. 14:43
    • The staff member said the board would need a motion to undo a policy reserving the sales tax for employee salaries in order to allocate more funds to the general fund. 15:38
  5. Bus routes and student tracking 18:09
    • Steve Fuselier asked why a program paid for last year to plan bus routes had not been implemented. 21:48
    • A staff member said the work had shifted among three people and the current employee is learning the program. 21:59
    • A staff member said a bus card system was obtained during COVID with ESSER money and bus drivers never used it, and a speaker asked staff to see that its use be mandated for all drivers. 23:30
  6. Fund balance and food service 27:35
    • A district staff member said that if the current year truly ended with a $6 million deficit, the fund balance would be $13 million. 28:00
    • Asked about food service finances, the staff member said it is a self-funded program and the staff member had not heard it was out of money. 28:29
    • The staff member said Fund 60 has $7.5 million and the total would be probably closer to $30 million when group health is added. 30:29
  7. Proposed spending cuts 32:03
    • Mike Clay cited a 2026⁠-⁠27 budget of $79,955,000, and the finance staff member said the district is budgeting 4.7% less than where it ended this year. 32:09
    • A speaker proposed cutting $600,000 from transportation, and a staff member said cutting buddy-system extra pay and requiring bus drivers to drive 5 hours a day would cut close to $100,000. 37:03
    • Mike Clay asked about a 10% cut to items other than teacher salaries and benefits, and the staff member said a flat 10% cut was not possible but travel and other areas were cut. 40:42
  8. Supplements and sales tax status 42:08
    • The finance staff member said the board had already approved this year's supplements and that money was fully budgeted. 43:13
    • The staff member said both district sales taxes are now permanent and do not come up for renewal. 45:00
  9. Bus parking, staffing and bond rating 45:10
    • A speaker asked staff to research whether a policy exists on where buses are parked. 46:09
    • The finance staff member said the district's rating will decrease at the next $10 million bond draw if the budget is not under control. 49:57
    • The staff member said the budget must be adopted by September 15th and can be amended any time afterward. 51:08
  10. Additional savings discussion 51:37
    • Mike Clay asked whether a district staff member had any more hard recommendations to cut the budget, and the staff member said the budget was to the bone. 51:38
    • The staff member said student insurance is down to $92,500. ~51:59
    • Speakers also discussed athletics spending, copier leases and LA One Connect charges. 53:24
  11. Budget adoption and adjournment 59:31
    • One board member recommended passing the budget as presented and amending it later if needed. 59:31
    • The motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned. 1:00:00

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “SMPSB Special Board Meeting, September 10, 2026 at 4:00 pm”