Vermilion Parish School Board put on a 'dog and pony' show

(This is a Column written by Chris Rosa, Managing Editor)

Covering government meetings in Vermilion Parish has its ups and downs. I know because I have been doing it for 15 years.
Covering school board meetings is better than watching paint dry. Over the years, there have been exciting moments, but on average, not too thrilling.
Then something happened where that all changed.
Three new board members were elected and began attending their first meetings in January. Joining the school board were Laura LeBeouf, Luddy Herpin and Sara Duplechain. Since the three rookies arrived, school board meetings have gone from normal to exciting, from my stand point.
Case in point: Thursday night’s school board meeting had it all.
For starters, the school board room was packed with teachers and parents who worked in Kaplan or had students who attend Rene Rost Middle School. They went to find out why Rene Rost Principal David Dupuis’ contract did not get renewed Thursday like other principals.
They learned the superintendent has until June to renew any administrator’s contract. No one left the meeting after learning that. They stayed and watched the drama unfold.
Throughout the meeting, there was finger pointing, arguing, voices raised, a school board member asking about the Sunshine Law and what it takes to violate it. There were speeches from audience members that were powerful.
The show started at 6 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. No school board meeting has gone that long and should not go that long.
After all of the drama unfolded, board members were allowed to give their closing comments to the Superintendent or the audience.
Duplechain sat silent the entire meeting. The only words she said were “Yes” or “No” when it came to voting on issues.
But that all changed when she gave her final comments at the end of the meeting.
“I sat here tonight and have been disgusted with what has happened at the last three board meetings,” Duplechain said. “The first time I met with Jerome (Puyau), the first thing he told me was that we would not be like Lafayette Parish. The only difference between us and Lafayette Parish is that we are not televised right now.
“I am disgusted and saddened. I feel like it is a drama club and a dog and pony show. They (other school board members) always know the right answers. They know the information before the rest of us (the three rookies).”
Duplechain said the parish will “Never go forward” until all board members have respect for one another.
Bravo! Bravo! She received applause from the audience.
What triggered this you ask? Simple. The three rookies are learning it is not easy to get something approved.
Most ideas LeBeouf and Herpin proposed Thursday, were shot down 5-3 (three votes were from the rookies). In my opinion, their ideas were good, but it did not matter because they don’t have the votes to get them passed. The rookies also voted 5-3 against approving the administrator’s personnel list because Dupuis’ name was not on it. It passed anyway.
The three rookie board members will continue to keep pounding and pounding, trying to hammer their suggestions. In the meantime, all this will make for good drama and plenty to write about.