DERIDDER—Talks of policy dominated the Beauregard Parish School Board (BPSB) meeting Monday.

The Policy Committee began with discussion of the last meeting held back in November 2009.

Policy Committee member Russell Havens voiced concerns of the lack of hiring of veterans in the BPSB.  According to Havens only 40 of the 900 employees of the BPSB are veterans.

“The problem I have with it is there are no veterans in any of the principal jobs. There are no veterans on any of our supervisory jobs. All of our interview teams, we have made up, and not a single veteran sits on them. I had three veterans tell me they could not get interviewed in Beauregard Parish and had to teach somewhere else. I think it is an issue. I think it has been an issue that has been ignored and I think we need to address it and deal with it,” said Havens.

The Policy Committee also discussed a student wellness measure that would make 30 minutes of rigorous physical activity a requirement daily for all student kindergarten through eighth grade. The current policy mandates the 30 minutes for students in kindergarten through sixth grades. The proposal will come up for final approval in March.

The BPSB approved the renewals of contracts for Tim Cooley, Instructional Supervisor, Central Office; David Wetzel, Assistant Principal, DeRidder Junior High School; Barbara Rutherford, Principal, East Beauregard High School; Ernie Bertrand, Assistant Principal, East Beauregard High School; and Debbie Dixon, Assistant Principal, DeRidder High School.