School Board debate centers on employment of convicted felons
Published 8:55 am Wednesday, July 15, 2015
After a lengthy debate Tuesday, the Calcasieu Parish School Board tabled an item that would change the school system’s practice of denying employment to people convicted of a felony.
The proposal would allow the board to hire people who were convicted of a felony not listed in the state Child Protection Act, which enumerates the offenses that automatically disqualify people from working with children.
According to the agenda, it would make eligible for hire “any person convicted of a felony that has occurred a minimum of ten years ago,” with the exception of those convicted of listed crimes. Applicants could have no additional convictions listed on their background checks.
Many board members voiced concerns about allowing felons to work with schoolchildren, while others said the change would give people convicted of minor felonies — possibly caused by accidents or negligence — a second chance.
Some wanted to know whether it was worth the risk and whether the school system was really missing out on high-quality employees by denying all convicted felons.
Board member Fredman Hardy said the board couldn’t adequately deal with the proposal at Tuesday’s meeting. He successfully moved to table the item and have it brought before the personnel committee Tuesday, July 21, to make time for further research and review. The committee will make a recommendation to the board.
In other business, state Reps. Brett Geymann and Bob Hensgens and state Sen. Ronnie Johns spoke about the improvements to education made during the recent legislative session.
Geymann headed education reform in the House, backed by Johns in the Senate. Geymann said lawmakers walked into the session expecting a train wreck and walked out with a good compromise. He said education in Louisiana is now headed in the right direction.
Hensgens said none of the changes could have come close to passing without the support coming from Calcasieu Parish.
“Cooler heads prevailed,” Hensgens said. “Everyone sat in a room and put their politics aside and came up with a working solution. It’s up to us now to make that resolution work.”
(MGNonline)