The Calcasieu Parish School Board gave few answers regarding districtwide policies for extracurricular sponsors after a recent incident that left
a dance team member abandoned at a local Walmart.
On Sept. 28, Myiah Myles, 14, and the
rest of the Washington-Marion dance team were headed to Leesville to
perform during
the school’s football game. The group stopped at the Walmart on
U.S. 171, and Myles left the bus. Different accounts of the
incident leave questions as to what happened next, but the bus
left Myles at the Walmart at the direction of dance team sponsor
Erika Mouton and Washington-Marion Principal Robert Pete.
After the incident, Pete was reprimanded, but Myles’ mother was told that the school system could not discipline Mouton because
“she was not an official CPSB employee.”
Greg Belfour, the School Board’s legal counsel, said extracurricular sponsors must follow the same processes as substitute
teachers in Calcasieu Parish. They fill out an application and fingerprint card and undergo the same background check that
full-time teachers do.
The distinction between sponsors and employees lies in the pay schedule. Belfour said sponsors do not follow the district
salary schedule and are instead given a stipend by each particular school.
Drill squad and cheerleader sponsors receive a stipend of $2,400 for completing football and basketball seasons.
The American Press was originally told by Calcasieu Parish Superintendent Wayne Savoy that sponsor duties and rules vary by school.
But Washington-Marion High School does not have a written set of rules specific to extracurricular sponsors.
The only mention of specific duties for
the dance team sponsor appears in the Washington-Marion Dancing Dolls
Constitution.
One rule reads, “The sponsor will handle any/all problems that
arise and, if necessary will call upon the band director and/or
principal for assistance. The penalties can be more severe than
those listed in this constitution.”
A closer examination of the School Board’s District Policy Manual — which is available online — reveals that extracurricular
sponsors must still follow the section on employee conduct.
“All employees, volunteers, student
teachers, interns, and any other person affiliated with the Calcasieu
Parish School Board
have the responsibility to be familiar with and abide by the laws
of the state, the policies and decisions of the School Board,
and the administrative regulations and procedures designed to
implement Board policies,” it reads.
The employee conduct section lists several specific rules pertaining to general demeanor, maintaining positive personal behavior
and following all terms of an employee’s contract.
It also includes a section that says an
employee’s actions should be dictated by the “nature of the position
held by the employee
and standards of common sense.”
“By virtue of one’s education and
experience, an employee knows and understands that certain actions or
conducts are unacceptable
even in the absence of formal Board policy,” the manual reads.
“For instance, without the need of a
specific prohibition or warning, a classroom teacher should be aware of
the impropriety
of certain practices such as leaving students unattended, using
profanity or sexually suggestive language, or bringing a firearm
onto campus.”
The American Press filed a public records request for all correspondence between School Board employees and the dance team sponsor regarding
the Sept. 28 incident.
But these documents were placed in an
employee’s personnel file, and laws such as the Personnel Files Act and
the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act prevented the board from sharing them, the
newspaper was told.
“These laws prevent me from providing
documents which may more fully explain what occurred. Even though these
documents could
impact your opinion about what transpired, the circumstances noted
therein would not change the fact that a student was left
alone, even if it was for only the few minutes it took for both
the mother and school administrator to arrive,” Savoy wrote
in a letter. “I deeply regret that these events occurred, and
assure you that our employees are expected to handle such situations
differently.”
Savoy said he and the school system stand behind their original statement that the “situation was handled.”
Online: www.cpsb.org.