St. Mary Parish special education advisory committee restates mission, notes SPED-teacher vacancy

The St. Mary Parish Special Education Advisory Committee reviewed its mission and membership at a meeting where members present said there was not a quorum and no votes could be taken.

Committee members said the group's purpose is to connect parents, teachers, principals and students with services and to surface concerns from families. "So we meet, 3 to 4 times a year, and we come up with different things," Dr. Fagan Busch said, describing the committee's schedule and activities.

The committee noted a recent vacancy in a special education teacher seat and said it will follow its replacement protocol. "We do have a recent opening due to, someone moving. We have an opening on our board, So we are going to take, the normal protocol so that we can replace that person on our team. It is the SPED teacher position that is open," Dr. Fagan Busch said. Doctor Como added, "Yes, we had a vacancy as of the fifth, so there was no time to follow the protocol. So we will do that after." The committee did not set a replacement date at the meeting.

Committee members emphasized the role of the group as a liaison between families and district services, including arranging outside presenters and student presentations at meetings. Because a quorum was not present, members noted discussions could proceed but no formal votes or actions would be taken at this session.

Meeting notes indicated membership present during roll call included Doctor Como, Walida August, Adriana Vardo, Jennifer Collins Lancelin, Nikima Jack, Karen Jamieson, Avery Price and Doctor Julie Price; the committee recorded that it lacked a quorum and could not vote on agenda items.

The committee did not take formal action at the meeting; staffing and replacement protocol issues will be addressed in a future meeting when voting can occur.