Tagged: schools

Louisiana education officials say the overall rate at which teachers are leaving public schools in the state has been steady, despite a recent sharp increase in retirements reported by the state's teacher retirement system.

Those figures showed the number of teachers retiring increasing to 3,295 in the year that ended June 30, compared to 2,598 the previous year.

The Department of Education analysis released Monday shows the overall rate of teachers leaving their jobs — for retirement, promotion or other reasons — has held steady at around 12 percent.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has agreed to shrink the number of mandates required of local school districts, despite concerns it would let school districts eliminate school counselors and librarians to cut costs.

Superintendent of Education John White proposed changes to 150 different sections of policies governing school systems. That included getting rid of the statewide school calendar and changing physical education standards to allow credit for extracurricular activities like cheerleading and participation in marching band.

Roger Dale DeHart has been elected president of the Terrebonne Parish School Board.

The Courier reports that in voting this past week, board members also selected Richard "Dicky" Jackson to serve as vice president.

DeHart served as board vice president in 2012.