Trigg Burrage, Milton Hernandez IV and Ben Stogner were all recognized as Students of the Year at a St. Tammany Parish School Board meeting recently.

Burrage is a senior at Northshore High School in Slidell; Hernandez is in eighth grade at L. P. Monteleone Junior High School in Mandeville, and Stogner is in fifth grade at Madisonville Junior High School.

Also recognized at the meeting was James Weston Twardowski, a junior at Fontainebleau High School, who just returned from the U. S. Senate Youth Program in Washington D. C. in early March as one of two students representing Louisiana. Dr. Paula Trish was also recognized as the Louisiana Arts Education Association Administrator of the Year. Trish was selected for her arts initiative, using the arts as a valuable teaching and learning tool for kindergarten through third grades.

Also recognized were members of the Louisiana Music Educators Association All-State Musicians; the American Choral Directors Association All-State Choir members; and the Fontainebleau High School Jazz Ensemble.

In other business:

'€¢ The School Board approved the appointment of Roslyn Hanson as principal of William Pitcher Junior High School. She has been teaching since 1993 and has recently served as secondary social studies curriculum specialist with the school system. She also served as Parishwide Assistant Principal and was assigned to William Pitcher Junior High, among other schools. (Watch for a complete story on Hanson in an upcoming edition of St. Tammany News.)

'€¢ It was announced the Louisiana School Board Association convention recognized Ray Alfred, School Board representative of District 14, for his excellent service and work.

'€¢ The board adopted a resolution canvassing the election returns regarding the $167 million bond renewal that was on the ballot March 8 as officially approved which will enable the School Board to incur the debt and issue the bonds as quickly as possible.

'€¢ Superintendent Gayle Sloan announced the events that occurred at Abney Elementary School were tragic (arrest of a custodian on rape charges), and the first priority of the board will be to speed installation of the security cameras on campuses throughout the parish.

'€¢ The board approved retirement resolutions for Diane Ruff of Covington High School, Linda Boyd of Mandeville Junior High, Walton Gaines of William Pitcher Junior High, and Terrill Weeks, Covington Maintenance.

The board also took action on the following recommendations from the Committee as a Whole meeting held March 6:

'€¢ Acceptance of the Extreme Heat and Hydration Policy;

'€¢ Acceptance of the amended Application for Alternative School with Alfred voting nay, citing an objection to housing K-fifth-graders on the same alternative school campus as high school students;

'€¢ Acceptance and approval of the low bid of Walter Rosevally Construction, Inc. of $146,300 for Slidell High School auditorium repairs;

'€¢ Acceptance of the Transportation Reorganization Plan, including job descriptions for driving training instructor and three transportation investigators, with member Donald Villere voting nay for the increased staff salary expenditures at this time.