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 Bus Sales for $2,186,579; accepting a $1,275,000 bid from Riverview Cattle Company for the Old Sterlington Middle School property; and accepting a $91,001.97 bid from Des James Smith for the Old Burke School property. The board also granted permission to rebid a property at 3420 Gordon Avenue at 85% of appraised value after the initial opening received no bids.

On personnel and calendar items, the board approved changes to the 2024–25 school calendar to move the last student day from Thursday, May 22 to Wednesday, May 21 and the last teacher workday from May 23 to May 22; it also approved making July 3, 2025, an additional holiday for 12-month employees. The finance committee’s recommendations were approved: increasing summer worker allotments (from $10,000 to $15,000 per high school campus and from $4,000 to $6,000 per middle school campus) and increasing the per-employee monthly cap for summer pay from $1,000 to $1,250.

Other approvals included selecting an architect for Riser (Ryeser/Riser) Middle School renovations (board approved the recommended firm), advancing several renovation projects and the construction report, and granting permission to advertise three projects for bid (Riser Middle School renovations, West Washtenaw High School land improvements and the Gordon Avenue property sale).

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes for 04/08/2025: motion made and seconded; outcome recorded as approved. - Adoption of canvass resolution for May 3 special election (East Ouachita Parish School District): motion made and seconded; outcome recorded as approved. Bond passage described as approximately 57% in favor. - Resolution to incur debt and issue general obligation bonds (East Ouachita Parish School District): motion made and seconded; outcome recorded as approved. Authorization: $50,000,000; initial series: $25,000,000; target delivery July 22. - Calendar adjustments (2024–25 final student/teacher days) and July 3, 2025 holiday for 12-month employees: motion made and seconded; outcome recorded as approved. - Finance committee recommendations: increase summer-campus allotments (high schools $10,000→$15,000; middle schools $4,000→$6,000) and increase per-employee summer-pay cap ($1,000→$1,250): motion made and seconded; outcome recorded as approved. - Bid awards and property sales (selected items): West Monroe practice-field renovations to Grindstone Construction ($2,940,000) after random selection due to tied bids; school buses to Ross Bus Sales ($2,186,579) for 15 buses (two 30-passenger wheelchair-accessible, eleven 71-passenger, two standard 30-passenger); Old Sterlington Middle School property to Riverview Cattle Company ($1,275,000); Old Burke School to Des James Smith ($91,001.97). Motions made and seconded; all recorded as approved. - Permission to rebid property at 3420 Gordon Avenue at 85% of appraised value (bid floor $15,045): motion made and seconded; outcome recorded as approved.

What the record shows and what it does not The transcript records motions, seconds and verbal unanimous approval on multiple items, but it does not record precise roll-call tallies or individual board-member votes for most items (the board used a voice vote with “All in favor? Yes. Any opposition? There is none.”). Where dollar figures, bidders and dates were recorded in the meeting, they are reported here verbatim. The transcript identifies bond counsel Grant Schluter and members of the board and staff who presented each item; individual movers and seconders are frequently not named in the spoken record.

Next steps and implementation notes Bond counsel said post‑election filings will be completed following adoption of the canvass resolution and the bond resolution; the initial bond series delivery was scheduled for July 22 to make construction funds available. Procurement staff will execute awarded contracts and proceed with project scheduling; staff will rebid properties per the board’s permission where needed.