By a vote of 5-2, the Jackson Parish School Board approved a motion to relocate the students attending Jonesboro Hodge Middle School beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Under this proposal, 6th-grade students will transition to Jonesboro Hodge Elementary School, and 7th and 8th-grade students will transition to Jonesboro Hodge High School.

Those voting for the action were Dennis Clary, Mary Saulters, Rick Barlow, Calvin Waggoner, and Wade McBride, while Gerry Mims and Paulette Belton voted against the move. 

Prior to the action, board members recognized Derrick Perry as PCAL Bus Driver of the Year and heard from Emily Smith, ELA Coordinator, who provided an update on DIBELS

In additional business at the meeting that was held on Monday, May 4th, in the Conference Room of the Jackson Parish School District Central Office, the board agreed to the following.

(1) Pay General Fund, Federal Program, School Food Service, Sales Tax, Special Education, and District Maintenance bills.

(2) Pay the Employer’s Share of Group Benefits insurance premiums from the General Fund for the June 2026 sales tax distribution.

(3) Pay a one-time retention stipend in the amount of $2,000.00 for certified staff and staff required to have a degree (IT Department, Nurses, and Business Office Staff) and $1,000.00 for non-certified staff, to be paid out of the General Fund. This stipend is intended to retain employees’ services for the 2026-2027 school year.

(4) Approve the Differential Compensation Allocation stipend for the fiscal year 2025-2026 to be paid to highly effective teachers, teachers in critical shortage areas as determined by BESE, teachers working in high needs schools, and teacher leader positions. The total allocation for this funding is $51,025.00, to be paid from the Differentiated Compensation Allocation fund.

(5) Accept low quote of $14,648.00 from Red Ball Oxygen for the purchase of four (4) Miller welding machines to be used in the welding program at Jonesboro Hodge High School, to be paid for 2025-2026 Perkins funds.

(6) Approve the Job Description for the Attendance Improvement Specialist, to be paid out of Redesign funding. This is a one-year position.

(7) Approve the hiring of Speech Therapists through a vendor agreement and/or individual staff contract at Jonesboro Hodge Elementary, Jonesboro Hodge Middle, Jonesboro Hodge High School, and Weston High School for the 2026-2027 school year to be paid out of the General Fund, not to exceed $185,000.00. One of the therapists will be on-site through a vendor, and one will be virtual.

(8) Accept low quote of $15,434.00 from Rainey Electronics, Inc. to purchase one (1) Baseball LED Scoreboard for Quitman High School, to be paid by Jonesboro State Bank.

(9) Accept low quote of $11,750.00 from Dodson Enterprises, Inc. for Quitman High School Baseball scoreboard installation, to be paid from Quitman District funds.

(10) Approve Jackson Parish 4-H contracting the use of a Jackson Parish bus and driver to transport students to summer camp at Camp Grant Walker in Pollock, La., June 29-July 2, 2026. Expenses will be paid by the LSU Ag Center – Jackson Parish office.

(11) Approve out-of-state travel for 40-45 Gifted and Talented students and five (5) Staff (Taryn Toms, Kathy Venable, Jennifer Tolar, Cortney Harvey, and Megan Lott) to attend the bi-annual Art Field Trip on January 15-17, 2027, in Houston, Texas. Expenses will be paid by the GT Art account.

(12) Approve out-of-state travel for Evie Delaney and Katie Delaney (Staff) to attend the National Junior Beta convention June 23, 2026- June 27, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Expenses will be reimbursed according to policy IFCB – Field Trips and Excursions.

Official Minutes of the May 4 Jackson Parish School Board meeting can be viewed in the Classifieds Section of the Jackson Parish Journal under Public Notice.