Ouachita Parish school board approves bond issuance, calendar changes, bids and finance allocations

At its meeting, the Ouachita Parish School Board adopted a resolution canvassing returns from the May 3 special election and approved a separate resolution authorizing the issuance of general obligation school bonds; the board also approved multiple construction contracts, property sales, school bus purchases, updates to the 2024–25 calendar and summer pay allotments for school staff.

The board unanimously adopted a resolution canvassing the returns from the May 3 special election that approved a general-obligation bond authorization. Bond counsel Grant Schluter said the official result showed “just a hair under 57%” in favor of the measure. The board then approved a second resolution authorizing the incurring of debt and issuance of a first series of bonds: the bond authorization is for $50,000,000 and the initial series will be $25,000,000, with final delivery targeted for July 22 to make funds available for construction.

The board approved multiple bids and property sales presented by procurement staff. Notable actions included: awarding the West Monroe High School practice-field renovation contract to Grindstone Construction (low bid $2,940,000) after a legally advised random-selection process due to a tie between the two lowest responsive bidders; approving the purchase of 15 school buses from Ross…