Among the agenda items at last Thursday night's special school board meeting in St. Helena Parish was the contract for newly appointed School Board Superintendent, Kelli Joseph.

Joseph, a former k thru 8 grade principal at Garyville-Mont Airy Math and Science Magnet School in St. John the Baptist Parish, will begin her contract with the board on June 30, as current Superintendent Daisy Slan's contract will terminate at that time. Joseph was appointed unanimously by the board, after several months of interviewing candidates, as all board members agreed that given the problems with the current system, they did not want to rush into hiring someone that may not be ready to tackle issues "head on."

According to board president Edward Galmon, "In our search, we found Joseph not only to be the most qualified, but determined she was the only candidate that was prepared to 'hit the ground running' to help the board with what was best for our schools and parish."

The unanimously approved contract calls for Joseph to be paid an annual salary of approximately $103,000.00 per year, comparable to the salary paid to outgoing Superintendent Slan.

According to the newly drawn contract, Joseph will also be paid an additional $300.00 per month for her vehicle maintenance, personal cellphone, computer and other related miscellaneous expenses.