East Baton Rouge Parish School Board approves LSU extern extension, grants and contracts; defers Hess item, authorizes Banks Elementary demolition

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Feb. 6 approved a series of grants and contracts, extended a Louisiana State University extern agreement and authorized advertisement for demolition of Banks Elementary School, while deferring a contract amendment with Hess to a date uncertain and sending the proposed 2025–26 academic calendar to the regular board meeting without recommendation.

The board voted to extend an extern agreement with the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College for up to $115,919 to fund as many as nine LSU externs in district schools, using general-fund dollars. Frank Noipondo, professor of mathematics and director of the Caine Center at LSU, told the board the externs act as trained instructors or graduate-student substitutes when a school lacks a qualified teacher and said the arrangement is a “win win win situation” that helps sustain STEM pathway offerings.

The board accepted a Real Time Early Access to Literacy (REAL) grant of $192,750 to fund high-dose, after-school literacy tutoring targeted to labelled schools, and approved a $15,000 Academic Distinction Fund award to build a handicap-accessible playhouse at South Downs Pre-K Center. The district also approved several professional services contracts: a $190,000 contract with K12 Insights for a customer-service platform, a $107,800 contract with Bailey Education Group LLC for special-education professional development and coaching, and a $288,400 contract…