The Ouachita Parish School Board celebrated earning a near-perfect audit for the second consecutive year during Tuesday’s regular board meeting.
The audit report, conducted by Allen, Green & Williamson of Monroe, included no findings for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which is the highest possible opinion to receive.
Ouachita Parish Schools also received two additional honors: the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO).
The district has earned these recognitions for 36 consecutive years.
Building Bridges Grant Winners
The School Board recognized the five winners of the 2025 Building Bridges Grant. The West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce and Adopt-A-School Committee presented each winner with a check to purchase materials to better present educational topics to their students.
The teachers and their projects include:
- Shelby Hardey, Claiborne Elementary, STEAM Fridays
- Samantha Murphy, Shady Grove Elementary, Math Stackers
- Stewart Felkel, Sterlington Middle, Guitar Class
- Kristina Peters, Good Hope Middle, Annotating with Document Cameras
- Amy Cady, West Monroe High, Print the Parish’s Future, Empowering Creativity Through 3D Design in the Classroom and Beyond.
2025-2026 OPSB Calendar
The School Board approved the district calendar for the 2025-2026 school year. The calendar includes four designated days in case of weather-related school closures and three teacher workday/student remote learning days.
Change Order
The School Board approved a change order to revise the bid on the additions and resurfacing of the West Monroe High School tennis court. Additional expenses pushed the total project cost to $60,669 in order to remove dirt and trees buried underneath the construction site.
Bids
The School Board approved bids on the following items:
Bid Item Funding Source Budget Amount
Copy Paper Various Various
The School Board granted permission to bid on the following items:
Bid Item Funding Source Budget Amount
Property Sale/Old Sterlington Middle School Central Elementary Restroom/Enclosed Hallway WOST $1,700,000
Stage Curtains Various $65,000
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