By JIM BUTLER

Rest easy School Board employees, the check’s not in the mail but it’s coming soon.

The board at its meeting today will be asked to approve payment of the one-time salary supplement approved by the Legislature this year.

Certified employees will receive $2,000; support personnel $1,000 in a check to be issued December 12. Those are gross amounts.

Speaking of dates, it is likely schools will open for students next August on Friday the seventh with teachers reporting on Tuesday the 4th.

Those dates are on Superintendent Jeff Powell’s proposed 2026-27 calendar to be discussed today and perhaps voted on.

The “perhaps” is cautionary due to the uncertainty over a traditional holiday for the parish fair, a preference favored by the board in the current calendar.

The proposed calendar has Fall Break penciled in for Thursday-Friday October 15-16. Whether the Fair is that week or a week earlier could not be determined Sunday.

As proposed, Fall Break would be followed on Monday October 19 by Teacher Professional Development Day, meaning no classes for students.