By JIM BUTLER

The School Board took in the Head Start program when HUD declined to renew the previous grant holder’s contract.

Then came the pandemic, which hit the program with all the issues of the period.

Now, with Covid funding drying up and student applications stacking up, the board is at a crossroads – seek renewal of its Head Start role or give it up.

And in the interim a half-million dollar funding gap needs to be closed.

With Covid recovery funding available paying teachers was no problem. Now it’s a major issue.

In fact, whatever the board decides to do about renewing with HUD,  there’s a looming $594,000 budget shortfall that needs to be addressed.

Supt. Jeff Powell wants the system to retain Head Start yet concedes the challenges involved.

At their March meeting board members were divided on what’s next.

Willard McCall was insistent that a good budget scrubbing could change things for the better.

He also noted that Head Start is where many kids learn how to be students, preparing them for the transition to traditional school.

Wilton Barrios wondered if the parish could return the program to HUD if a partnering agency can’t be found, saying he doesn’t think it is working.

Stephen Chapman said he doesn’t think the board is the right entity to run the program.

Sandra Franklin, a proponent for retaining the program, conceded there are issues but said they can be fixed.

Linda Burgess agreed, adding she thinks $600,000 is not that much money in the scheme of things and urging finding it, fixing the current problem and then deciding the future course.

She said she believes that course should be keeping the program under the board’s wing.

In the end the board gave Powell no immediate guidance, voting to send the matter to committee for report back in April.

Chapman and Franklin voted against delaying.