Breaux Bridge – The St. Martin Parish School Board finally passed its budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year at its meet ing this past Wednesday as the state’s Sept.
15 deadline approaches, three months after broaching the subject of budget cuts at meetings in June, July and August.
School system Chief Financial Officer Casey Broussard told the school board’s Finance Committee that because the board had decided at past meet- ings not to make some of its proposed budget cuts, “unfortunately, the budget does contain a $2.3 million deficit."
Broussard said that 82 percent of the $78 million budget goes toward salaries and ben- efits, leaving roughly $12 million in all other areas that could be cut.
“Of that primarily $5 million of this goes towards maintenance and maintaining our facilities whereas the rest is divided among curriculum and administrative costs,” she said. “We are required to adopt a budget by Sept. 15.”
School board mem- ber Wanda Vital asked Broussard what the plan was to get out of the deficit.
“I’ve given several different plans to the board, and y’all all voted to continue to operate in the manner and use our fund balance to continue day-to-day operations, so … I don’t know what you had in mind as far as moving forward if you’re not going to accept the recommendations that I was giving to adopt a budget,” Broussard said.
Board member Mark Hebert argued that the main way the administration had proposed cutting budget costs was to raise the student-teacher ratio, which the board is dead set against.
“I sat down one afternoon and I cut out $300,000 just by thinking like this,” Hebert said. “But sometimes you get resistance. And it might not happen overnight but what we need to do is just look at the budget.”
Budget
Hebert said not replacing people who are retiring and splitting their duties among remaining staff is one way to affect the budget.
He also argued against cutting lower salaried people like cafeteria workers and instead cutting higher salaried people like administrators.
“The last resort should be your studentteacher ratios,” he said.
In response to another question from Vital regarding the loss of students in the parish, Broussard said that the school system lost $700,000 more than had been previously expected that went toward new charter schools.
Hebert said that costs from the school board’s ongoing desegregation lawsuit issue also are an expense the board is dealing with.
The committee voted, and the board later accepted the committee’s recommendation, for the proposed budget, which would see $76.624 million in revenues and $79.563 in expenditures, a deficit of $2.939 million.
Finance committee The Finance Committee also looked into how to divide up where money from the $30 million capital expenditures bond that voters approved in May would be used.
Broussard presented a recommendation to use $16 million parishwide for ICEP, the career center, campus security upgrades, technology, HVAC/roofing/electrical/ doors work, food services and buses.
The remaining $14 million would be divided on a per-capita basis among the schools in each district — Breaux Bridge, Cecilia, St. Martinville and Parks/Catahoula/ Stephensville. The Finance Committee also heard a proposal from LEAN Frog President and cofounder Byron Headrick to consult with the school system in order to find waste and recommend ways to save money.
School Board member Richard Potier suggested that if the board would listen to him, he could find ways to save money in the same way he and four other new members of the board did some three decades earlier when first elected, without the need for hiring anyone with numerous college degrees.
New business
School Superintendent Frederick Wiltz introduced Teche Elementary School fourthgrade teacher Ali Angelle, who was named the 2026 Louisiana Elementary School Teacher of the Year this summer.
The board also heard a presentation from LSU Ag Center County Agent Stuart Gauthier, who discussed the sugar cane, rice and soy bean crops as well as crawfish ponds and cattle herds that comprise the main agricultural products in the parish. The parish also ranks high in the state in honey production.
The parish’s 4H Youth Development agent Ashley Istre, who works with 4H agent Erica Pitre, discussed the youth programs in the parish and introduced a half-dozen or so parish students who spoke about their 4H experiences to the board.
