St. Tammany farmer., 1910-10-08
SCHOOL BOARD
CONVENED
Report Of superintendent
Messick Received.
Funds Apportioned to Give
Schools Seven Months.
Bids for Fiscal Agent for
School Fund Asked.
A Number of Bills Read
and Approved.
Minutes Of the Meeting by
the Secretary.
A Number of Bills Read
and Approved.
Minutes Of the Meeting by
the Secretary.

hc dIlSH oCuOOl bOaTu met III
regular session to-day with all mem.
bers present.
The minutes of the July meeting
were read and approved as read.
The Superintendent then read the
following report:
Genlemen-In submitting my re-
port | wish to say that all the schools
that have teachers are doing as we'll
as would be expected under the cir
cumstances. The schools that | have
visited and had reports from, with
two exceptions, show a much larger
enrolment this year than any pre-
vious year. The schools Of Coving-
ton and Slidell have a much larger
enrolment than was enrolled all last
year. Owing to the congested con-
ditions at Slidell it has been neces-
sary to provide for two more teach
ers. | have been unable to secure
teachers for the Koepp, Ramsay,
Dunbar and Bush schools, provided
that school is opened at Bush. l
believe the board ordered this school
ut Its last meeing. | have received
= petition from the patrons asking
that this school be reopened. Wheth-
er we reopen this or not / have no
teachers for it. / have had consider
able trouble in securing teachers for
all the schools. SO many who were
conditionally appointed failed to
pass the examinations that it has
worked quite a hardship to fill all
the vacancies with qualified teach
ers. l have been able to secure
only few qualified colored teach
ers.
/ notice in the minutes of the last
meeting that the attorney was asked
to draw up a deed transferring the
school property at Vaudeville to the
parish school board. This has not
been done yet.
The building committee for the
Bayou Lacombe school have met at
Bayou Lacombe, August Is, and
awarded the contract to Hardouin &,
Michaelis, they being the lowest bid
ders. Nothing has been done to-
wards this building, yet, owing to
the fact that the town of Bayou La
combe is not yet in position to
make a deed of the lot to the school
board.
The Winson Grove school house is
about completed but the school
board has no deed to this property.
The land on which this house was
built was given by Mr.. F. Salmen,
president of Salmen Brick and Lum-
ber Company, but so far no transfer
of title has been made. We have
bought 40 sinole desks for this
school, 40 for the leighton school
school. The Onville school is in
need of desks and the local authori-
ties there propose to secure half the
funds to buy 20 double desks for
that school If the school board will
pay the other half. This should be
done.
In looking over the records l find
there is no legal depositary at pres
ent for the school funds. The time
and bond Of the St. Tammany Bank
ing Company and Savings Bank hav-
ing expired last March. So accord
ing to law the school funds have
been drawing no interest since last
March unless the above mentioned
banking company sees fit to pay
the amount of interest they have
been paying. This should have been
attended to last January l note
further that none of the funds deriv-
ed from the Slidell special school tax
have been paid over to the treas
urer OF the school board and that
nearly half the amount that has been
collected has been paid out. The
law requires that all school money
shall be paid out by warrants issued
by the parish superintendent who is
treasurer of the school funds. | do
not claim that any of the Slidell
special fund has been misappropriat-
ed but it has not been spent legally
This money should have been draw
ing interest but as it is now there
is no interest due unless the Slidell
bank sees fit to pay the interest that
the st. Tammany Banking Company
and Savings Bank has been paying.
The money on hand now is prac-
tically what was left by Supt. A. B.
Peters. have received SIS from
r. e. Brewster, tax collector, and |
have issued between S400 and $500
worth of warrants. | issued no war;
rants until after l received my bond,
which was September 5.
Since the law provides that par
ish superintendents may have their
books audited once year free Il
have asked Supt. T. H. Harris to
send sthe auditor here to audit my
books.
Statement showing receipts and
disbursements from August 10 to
september 80, 1910:
Amount received from A. B.
Peters as shown per
cash book. .......... $5,093.39