March 10, 2000
Ascension Parish School Board
Dear Sirs or Madams:
I was very disappointed that my request to be placed on the School Board agenda to present the following two issues was rejected.
First, to request the resignations of Ascension Parish School Board members and Ascension Parish school principals for what I believe to be serious health and safety issues involving our students and their parents and your total disregard towards these issues.
And second to present to the School Board a petition signed by East Ascension students, their parents, and other concerned parish residents requesting the investigation, and possible removal of Mr. Eli, as principle of the East Ascension High School.
Your attempt at hiding these issues behind closed doors using the excuse that “this is a personnel issue” is a farce. I bring to your attention that the School Board and its staff are PUBLIC officials, in charge of PUBLIC schools, and as such the matter should be handled in PUBLIC.
Attached find the document I was to present at the school board meeting regarding the safety issues at the Dutchtown schools which I will now distribute to the media and public officials that I feel need be made aware of the situation.
As for the petition I will withhold it at this time for two reasons. First the students are still gathering signatures, and second I demand that this be presented to the School Board at a public meeting.
Chuck Le Mieux
Cc/Fax to:
Advocate
Ascension Citizen
Ascension Parish Council
Ascension Parish President
Ascension Parish TV
Channel 2
Channel 33
Channel 9
Community Mirror
Gonzales Weekly
La. Board of Education
State Health Dept.
To the members of the Ascension Parish School Board:
I have requested being placed on your agenda so that I may demand the resignations of Mr. Robert Clouatre, Superintendent of the Ascension Parish Public Schools, Ms. Graves, Middle School Director of the Ascension Parish Public Schools, Ms. Rosalyn Small, Primary School Director of the Ascension Parish Public Schools, Ms. Elizabeth Stafford, Principal of the Dutchtown Primary School, and Ms. Cathy Meredith Principal of the Dutchtown Middle School for what I believe to be a blatant disregard of our students and their parents health, safety, and well being.
I bring to your attention three incidents brought to your attention throughout this 1999-2000 school year.
The first incident I bring to your attention pertains to the excessive heat, in excess of ninety-six degrees, the school board and the principal of the Dutchtown Middle School exposed our students to using this gym facility with inadequate ventilation as a home room.
Numerous phone calls and faxes from me were for the most part ignored. Attitudes, in my opinion, of the school board and the principal of the Dutchtown Middle School was one of total lack of concern. It was not until I requested intervention of the Louisiana State Board of Education and Louisiana State Board of Health that fans were placed in this gym to afford some relief to the heat.
The second incident I bring your attention to pertains to the dangerous traffic situation the school board, the principal of the Dutchtown Middle School, and the principal of the Dutchtown Primary School exposed our students and their parents to with regards to entering and exiting the primary and middle schools via the Dutchtown School Road at State Highway 74.
Again numerous phone calls and faxes from me were ignored and what little effort made by the school board and the principals of both schools was nothing less than mere lip service. It was only after seven long months that I was able to have a crossing guard posted at this dangerous intersection again with no assistance from the school board or the principals of either school.
The third incident I bring to your attention to pertains to the dangerous situation regarding the excessive weight the school board, and the principals of the Dutchtown Middle and Primary Schools, are exposing our students to by forcing them to carry backpacks which could cause severe back injury.
Once again numerous phone calls and faxes fell on deaf ears. Documents presented to you from both a backpack manufacturer, Jansport, and an article from Contact Kids Magazine, both of which concur that the weight being carried by some of our students is well in excess of what is considered safe went unanswered.
It is my opinion that the school board members mentioned here, and the principals of the Dutchtown Middle and Primary Schools, have little or no regard for their students and their parents’ health, safety, and well being. If they did, they would not have let these situations exist in the first place, nor would they have let them continue on without doing anything as they have. It is for these reasons and the incidents I have described that I ask those mentioned here resign their posts and make room for those who believe our students health, safety and well being are just as important, if not more important, as a good education.
Chuck Le Mieux
