Regular Board Meeting - October 1, 2026

The October 1, 2026 regular meeting of the St. Mary Parish School Board included several procurement and financial actions. The board approved the consent agenda item for a solicitation for lawn maintenance services and approved use of the RAPIDS bid contract for educational materials and supplies (Bid No. 26-28), allowing purchases from existing vendors at discounted prices. It also accepted a $7,323.87 bid—above the $6,800 reserve—for the sale of the one-acre property at 497 Highway 317, and approved declaring five buses surplus for auction through GovDeals. For the Medicare Advantage renewal, the board discussed Blue Cross and UnitedHealthcare options, including a UnitedHealthcare proposal with unchanged benefits and premiums and projected savings; it voted to defer a decision to a special meeting while staff seeks extensions and awaits additional commercial-plan renewal information. The commercial group health plan renewal was reported at an 11.9% increase, with an appeal for a reduction pending.

The board also approved letters of no objection for foreign-trade-zone applications from Deep Water Supply, Inc. and Cameron International Corporation; the applications concern federal tariff relief, and staff reported work on an agreement to address potential local tax impacts. Discussion of the Louisiana Industrial Tax Exemption Program established that future applications may be brought to the board for guidance to its local committee representative, with no action taken on that item. The board approved facilities-committee recommendations to appraise the Office of Special Services property, explore leasing options for the Materials and Operations Center, and survey park property to clarify the area potentially involved in a future sale; no property sale was approved in those actions.