The Terrebonne Parish School Board on Wednesday completed a slate of routine business and formal votes including the election of board officers, adoption of resolutions and authorization of contracts and purchases.

Elections: The board elected Mister Fazan as president by roll call (8 yays, 1 nay) and elected Debbie Benoit as vice president by roll call (8 yays, 1 nay). The motions followed nominations and a formal roll‑call vote conducted by the board clerk.

Resolutions and proclamations: The board adopted a banking and investment resolution authorizing the board president and the superintendent to jointly exercise signature authority over demand deposit accounts and requiring the board to grant new signatory power when officers change. The board also approved a resolution recognizing February 2025 as African American History Month in district schools and a proclamation recognizing Feb. 3–7, 2025 as National School Counseling Week.

Property purchase: The board approved purchase of property adjacent to Acadian Elementary School at 136 Lewis Road in Houma for $125,000, to be paid from the general operating fund subject to the board attorney’s review. During discussion Board Member Matthew Ford questioned why the district would pay $125,000 when the assessor’s appraised value had been shown in board materials as $120,000; district staff said the seller’s initial asking price had been $195,000, the district’s offer started at $100,000, a counteroffer of $130,000 followed, the board settled at $125,000 and the district’s new appraisal returned $159,000. Staff said the appraisal can be provided to board members on request.

Procurements and projects: The board authorized the child nutrition department to advertise annual bids for milk, fruit juice, fresh fruits and vegetables and supplies for July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026 and to advertise six‑month bids for meats, frozen items and canned/dried goods for the 2025 fall session. The board approved change order No. 6 for the Hurricane Ida recovery project at Evergreen Junior High in the amount of $10,155.31 (building fund) to add metal stud walls and 750 square feet of VCT flooring.

Technology and energy projects: The board approved a proposal for Internet access services from AT&T Enterprise LLC for a five‑year period in the amount of $150,000, with $135,000 expected from E‑rate funding and $15,000 from the district technology fund, pending board attorney review. The board also issued a notice to proceed to Volut Incorporated for the Oak Lawn lighting retrofit project; staff said the project is funded through Entergy via the Louisiana Public Service Commission’s statewide energy efficiency program for public entities and that there is no local share for eligible Entergy‑served schools.

Personnel: The board approved family and medical leave for an employee beginning Jan. 6, 2025 through Feb. 14, 2025 in accordance with board policy F‑11.4A and accepted routine personnel actions for the reporting period.

Several motions were taken without roll‑call tallies recorded in the publicly available transcript; when roll calls were recorded the clerk announced tallies as noted above. Where funding sources were noted in the record (E‑rate, technology fund, building fund, general operating fund, Entergy/LPSc program) staff indicated origins during motions and answered members’ questions about local share.