Gagnard edges Gauthier for APSB presidency

The Avoyelles Parish School Board will be under new leadership for the next 12 months. Board member John Gagnard of Marksville was elected president and Mike Lacombe of Cottonport was chosen as vice-president at the board’s meeting Jan. 9.

Gagnard edged James Gauthier for the presidency by a 5-4 vote. Lacombe was elected without opposition. Van Kojis nominated Gagnard while Chris LaCour nominated Gauthier.

Gagnard was the last board member to cast his vote, breaking a 4-4 tie to claim the presidency.

Freeman Ford, Darrell Wiley and Lacombe also voted for Gagnard while Shelia Blackman-Dupas and Liz Ned voted with LaCour and Gauthier in the losing effort.

Gagnard replaces LaCour of Bordelonville while Lacombe replaces Liz Ned of Bunkie. This will be Gagnard’s first term as president. He has served a term as vice president.

“I’m excited about serving as president and also ready to face the many challenges facing the board,” Gagnard said after the meeting. “I want to thank the board for their confidence and support. I’m looking forward to serving the next year.”

This will be Lacombe’s second time to serve as vice president. He held the position in 2016 before taking over as president to fill the unexpired term of Van Kojis, who stepped down from the top spot. He also served as president in 2015. “I’m ready to serve on the board and work for the betterment of education,” Lacombe said after the meeting. “There are several issues, including financial, discipline and others facing this board, but I’m ready for the challenge.”

ANNUAL AUDIT REPORT

In other business, auditor Aloysia Ducote of Ducote and Company told board members the annual audit was good overall but did have two items that had to be reported.

Firstly, the audit report was filed five days late with the Legislative Auditor. Ducote said that was her fault because new state guidelines forced her to do extra work, resulting in a delay in filing the final report. The second finding was a report of missing funds at Marksville Elementary. That matter was properly handled by the school system with a police report being filed. However, the state requires the auditor to report such matters as a finding in the audit.

Ducote said the school system has very little debt service obligations but is still running on a tight budget.

LaSAS, FOOD SERVICE
Board members also heard budget reports from LaSAS and the district’s Food Service Department, which both had surpluses.

LaSAS, which operates as a charter high school within the school district, showed total revenues of over $2.89 million and expenses of just over $2.49 million, leaving a surplus of $395,568 and an accumulated reserve of more than $1.5 million.

Food Service had $3.84 million in revenue and $3.65 million in expenses. It ended the year with a $189,010 surplus and $847,659 fund balance.