By Pat Culverhouse

Monday’s Webster Parish School board meeting took on an international flair when 15 foreign exchange students were welcomed to the parish school system.

North Webster High School is playing host to nine of the students while Lakeside Jr/Sr High is home to five. One is attending Minden High.

Students and their home countries at North Webster include Mari Bjoerkheim (Norway), Karoline Brandi (Denmark), Lena Herrmann (Germany), Eloa DeGroot (Netherlands) and Rachel Gelding (Australia).

Also, Liliana Nesbach (Germany), Elettra Mannato (Italy), Petra Jovanovic (Norway) and Liv Van Dijk (Netherlands).

Lakeside’s students are Claudia Alomar (Spain), Ida-Adelina Hemminki (Finland), Romana Psotova (Slovakia), Lena Dabrowska (Poland) and Anna Petrochenkova (Russia).

Laura Guentzel of Germany is attending Minden High School.

Dr. Rebecca Wilson, parish school system personnel director, recognized host families for the students, thanking them for their willingness to support the foreign exchange program.

Dr. Wilson also pointed out that four of the students were unable to attend Monday’s meeting due to practice on athletic teams.

“They are involved in sports as well as academics,” she said.

During their meeting, school board members also:

• Recognized Darrell Hughes, teacher at North Webster Upper Elementary, as employee of the month for February.
• Authorized Superintendent Johnny Rowland to sign new five-year contract on one optional two-year extension with Hunt Telecommunications, LLC, to purchase Internet access services, wide area network services and additional products and services.
• Approved trip by charter bus to NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas for 5th grade students at North Webster Upper Elementary. Title I will fund $5,125 for bus; students will pay other costs.
• Announced plans to consider adoption of resolution ordering and calling special election in Consolidated School Dist. 3 to authorize rededication of an ad valorem tax at March 2 meeting.
• Adopted a resolution providing guidelines for appointment of persons to serve on the Webster Parish School Board Educational Facilities Improvement Dist.
• Adopted a resolution appointing the Board of Directors of of the Webster Parish School Board Educational Facilities Improvement Dist. Members will be Johnnye Kennon, Debbie Thomas, Johnny Rowland, Crevonne Odom and one board member.
• Approved Homeland Safety System quote of $241,612.19 for system service agreement for all parish schools and school board offices for period Jan. 1, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2026. Funding source will be the various maintenance and tax funds.

Board members also approved, in globo, invoice payments totaling $170,953.06  from the various parish maintenance and tax funds. Those payments included:

• Consolidated Dist. 3 Maintenance Fund: $19,799.89. Payments include $6,828 to replace pitching lane at softball field and provide care for the turf at softball and football fields at Lakeside Jr/Sr High; $4,624.26 to remove and install new ASB, programmed and testing the system at Lakeside Jr/Sr High; $4,120 for lawn maintenance for baseball and practice football field for 2026 at Lakeside Jr/Sr High.

• Dist. 6 One-half cent Sales Tax Fund: $87,818.56. Major expenditures included $22,120.20 to purchase 60 Chromebooks for Webster Jr. High; $16,160 to remove and replace standard Lennox package unit at J.A. Phillips Elementary: $14,105 for catch basin at Webster Jr. High; $7,874.53 to replace faulty VSD assembly for cooling tower fan at Minden High; $6,976.41 for ice maker at J.L. Jones Elementary; $5,164.37 to install vandal-proof camera-turret-all weather camera at J.A. Phillips Elementary.

• Doyline Maintenance Fund: $21,640.24 included $17,771.70 to rekey locks on Doyline High School campus; $2,160 for field conditioner and mound clay for baseball field at Doyline High; $1,390 to purchase sure day and clay for softball field at Doyline High; $318.54 to service mower at Doyline High.

• Shongaloo Building Fund: $15,216.05 on payments of $8,716.05 to purchase power washer and orbital scrubber for North Webster Lower Elementary, and $6,500 for rummer mulch around playground equipment at North Webster Lower Elementary.
• Springhill Maintenance Fund: $26,478.32. Payments include $13,414.96 to purchase three Smartboard panels for Brown Upper Elementary; $7008.32 for furniture for office reception area, teachers’ meeting room and classrooms at Brown Upper Elementary; $2,359 to purchase buffer and vacuum for Brown Upper Elementary; $2,078 to purchase five vacuums, two 32-gallon trash cans and one 88-gallon tilt truck for Browning Elementary.