St. Tammany asks voters to pay for school security

Following the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school last year, the St. Tammany Parish public schools placed an armed school resource officer and mental health provider on each of the district’s 55 campuses. School system administrators said last year the district could cover the first year’s cost, up to $4 million, with money it had from the BP oil spill settlement.

Now, the parish’s voters are being asked to approve a 2-mill property tax that would be dedicated to covering those salaries going forward.

That tax, and another school district referendum seeking voter permission for a $175 million school construction bond issue, highlight the May 4 election ballot in St. Tammany. Early voting begins Saturday (April 20) and continues through April 27.

(See St. Tammany’s May 4 ballot)

In recent months, schools Superintendent Trey Folse has criss-crossed the parish in an effort to drum up support for both proposals.

“It’s been very well received," Folse said regarding the construction bond request. “We’re very specific, down to the (school) wing. In past issues we’ve done what we said we were going to do. Our track record serves us well.”

Proposition 1 on the ballot, the bond issue, would finance $150 million in construction projects at schools across the parish. The other $25 million would be spent on security and technology projects. The bonds will backed by the district’s existing construction millage, which the School Board recently reduced by 2 mills to 13.9 mills, and won’t require new taxes, officials say.

Proposition 2 calls for 2 mills for 10 years, with the expectation the tax would bring in around $4.1 million annually. While school district officials often refer to this proposition as a “rededication," referencing 2 mills the board recently rolled back from its construction millage, it is actually listed on the ballot as a new tax.

Nonetheless, district officials have stressed to voters that property owners won’t pay any more than they do now. In a webpage dedicated to the propositions, the district also says it has trimmed more than $41 million in taxes through millage rollbacks over the years.

For the first time, the district last August started the school year with officers and mental health providers on each campus. Prior to that, it had officers only at some sites.

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Folse said this week that it’s too early for any statistical compilation, but that he’s heard good things from parents, teachers and administrators about having mental health providers so readily available to help students. The district will look back years from now and view the resource officers and mental health providers as a great decision, he said. “It could be a legacy for our school system.”

The propositions have received endorsements from the Northshore Business Council, St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce, St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and the St. Tammany chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“Schools provide a unique opportunity to identify and treat mental health conditions by serving students where they already are,'' Nick Richard, NAMI St. Tammany executive director, said via email. "School personnel play an important role in identifying the early warning signs of an emerging mental health condition and in linking students with effective services and supports.

Folse said the construction program follows the district’s general five-year cycle. The most recent large-scale bond issue for the school district was in 2013, when voters approved $135 million in school construction, security and technology work.

Folse said replacing modular classrooms will be a focus of a five-year construction plan.

Here’s the list of schools and projects:

· Abita Springs Middle: $5.55 million. New classroom wing

· Abney Elementary: $10.7 million. New gym/music building, classroom wing, parking lot

· Abney Early Childhood Center: $1.3 million. New modular classrooms, parking lot.

· Bayou Woods Elementary: $5.8 million. New classroom wing

· Covington Elementary: $9.9 million. New classroom wing

· Covington High: $22.1 million. New classroom wing

· Cypress Cove Elementary: $7.8 million. New classroom wing

· Fifth Ward Junior High: $2.2 million. New agriculture building

· Florida Avenue Elementary: $7.1 million. Renovate gym, cafeteria, replace main breezeway

· Folsom Elementary: $3.2 million. Renovate classroom wing, new restroom building

· Fontainebleau High: $22.5 million. New classroom wing

· Lee Road Junior High: $9.1 million. New classroom wing, kitchen addition and renovation

· Little Oak Middle: $17.3 million. New classroom wing

· Magnolia Trace Elementary: $18.5 million. New classroom building

· Northshore High: $3.9 million. New classroom wing

· Salmen High: $2.3 million. Renovate existing building into welding shop, career technical classrooms.

Planned spending for the security and technology initiative:

· $10 million for classroom technology: purchase of electronic devices, licenses and associated items, concentrated in the fourth-12th grades.

· $12 million for “intrusion detection." That includes controls to doors at schools and other facilities, and camera and lock systems at entry points so visitors can be identified and vetted.

· $2 million for cameras inside schools and facilities.

· $1 million for upgrades to the central computer room to increase bandwidth and security.

Bond, tax issue for schools

via nola.com
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St. Tammany Parish schools Superintendent Trey Folse on the first day of school at Whispering Forest Elementary in Slidell.