Schools lose $1M in MFP revenues

The decrease in the parish’s Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) payment from the state is due to falling enrollment in local public schools.
The official head count taken on Oct. 1 put the number of MFP students in the parish at 7,612, a drop of 176 from the last official count taken in Feb. 1.
The state’s current per pupil allocation of MFP funds is $5,896 so the enrollment decrease will cost the parish an estimated $1,037,649.
With the cut, the parish’s MFP receipts will be $44,880,352 for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Board members last week approved a series of budget cuts proposed by the central staff that should cover $731,500 of the shortfall. The list includes allowing a vacant bookkeeper slot in the central office to remain unfilled, along with a secretary position at St. Martinville Sr. High, which saw its enrollment drop by 33 students. The school will also lose one teacher position at mid-year.
Breaux Bridge High, where enrollment fell by 53, will lose two teachers at mid-term.
Other projected savings were listed in fuel costs, miscellaneous maintenance funds, science textbook expenditures, telephone services, utilities, legal fees and others.
Even with these budget reductions, the loss of MFP funds still leaves a $306,000 hole in the budget, which officials indicated the system could probably absorb.
Staff members also presented an analysis of enrollment changes during the period from this past August through October detailing gains and losses in parish enrollment.
The report shows 1,167 students leaving the system for almost two dozen different reasons but only 928 new students registered.
The net loss to charter and parochial schools was 51 students with another five moving to home school.
And l66 more students moved out of the parish than joined the system.
Among the other reasons for students leaving the system were transfers to adult education or the Youth Challenge program and to dropouts who had passed the mandatory attendance age.

Beebe’s Contract In other business at last week’s meeting, the board, during a 30-minute executive (secret) session, discussed Supt. Dr. Lottie Beebe’s contract, which expires on June 30, 2013.
No action was taken when the meeting resumed following the session