Talking points

School board chief’s $12,000 surprise

Schools superintendant Rodney Lafon is easy to like and his job is a big one. And St. Charles Parish School Board members agreed in a regular meeting that he does indeed have the chops to warrant a new contract that includes a respectable pay raise.

Members went into a closed session before voting to extend Lafon’s contract through December 31, 2008. They also voted to give him 10 percent salary hike of $12,000.

“He’s doing an excellent job for our community and our children and as board members we are pleased,” board member Clarence Savoie says.

Lafon’s base pay is $125,610, and, no, he did NOT get the five percent pay increase that teachers received across the board earlier this year.

While we’re on the subject of education and the schools, two St. Charles Parish school board members are retiring after more than 20 years of service. Alfred Green and Wayne Roussel chose earlier in the year not to run for another term.

And before I forget, while I’m still thinking about jobs and salaries, here’s a trivia tidbit for you. The best-paying positions, on average, for people who don’t hold a four-year degree, in the parish are for what the petro-chemical companies call “process technicians.

Those workers earn an average of $1,949 per week to monitor chemicals and keep heat pumps and exchangers under control.

For readers without calculators, that’s $101,348 a year.

The job requires a two-year associate’s degree, James Poole, program coordinator of the St. Charles One-Stop Career Center, in Luling, tells the Herald-Guide.

St. Charles Parish’s Satellite Center has launched a new website announcing the 2nd Annual Satellite Center Video an Animation Festival to be held on April 26th from 6 PM to 9 PM at the Center.

Entries in the festival will be accepted from any St. Charles Parish high school student – and that, kids, means YOU.

For more information, hit the Web: http://scvaf,stcharles.k12la.us

The news about suspected serial killer Ronald Dominique just keeps breaking. I’ve learned that he may have lived somewhere in St. Charles Parish during his murder spree.

Sheriff Greg Champagne says he is investigating to find out for sure. “We haven’t confirmed anything yet, but we’re looking into the possibility Dominique lived in the parish when some of the murders occurred,” Champagne tells the Herald-Guide, noting that a judge in Terrebonne Parish has imposed a gag order prohibiting further discussion of the case in the media.

Do you have a Talking Point? Shonna wants to hear from you. Write editor@heraldguide.com.