Rapides Parish School Board recognitions and awards
At its regular October meeting Tuesday (Oct. 7, 2025), the Rapides Parish School Board recognized its student of the month and the achievements of other students and employees.
- Rapides Parish public schools are planning to transition to a cashless system by early November.
- A new policy is being considered to address the use of artificial intelligence by students and employees.
- The school board is also reviewing a proposal to allow chaplains to serve as volunteers in the district.
- Two elementary schools are set to revert to a pre-K through sixth-grade structure for the 2026-27 school year.
Rapides Parish public schools could be cashless by early November, according to an update during a Tuesday committee meeting.
The meetings also included discussion of a new policy concerning employee and student use of artificial intelligence, a proposal to reorganize the district’s maintenance/facilities department and another new policy that would let chaplains volunteer in the district.
Additionally, a motion passed out of the education committee to return Pineville and Lessie Moore elementary schools to pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade starting with the 2026-27 academic year. The item was sent to the board’s consent agenda, which means it won’t be discussed again unless a member pulls it at the regular meeting on Nov. 4.
Cashless schools
Finance Director Liz Domite said the goal is for schools to go cashless beginning Nov. 3. She told finance committee members that information should be sent to parents soon after a meeting last week with school secretaries to finalize the plan.
Board member Wilton Barrios asked about a grace period for people who pay for school-related expenses by cash.
“When we come back after Christmas, we hope to be totally cashless,” she said.
Barrios was told he could use a debit card if he was paying to enter at an athletic event, and he nodded his head. Domite said people also could pay by phone through Apple Pay or Google Pay, too.
The item passed committee and was sent to the full board’s consent agenda.
Artificial intelligence
Also sent to the board’s consent agenda is a proposed policy regarding the acceptable use of artificial intelligence by students and employees.
While Powell said AI “is changing the landscape of a lot of things, not just education,” and that the board needs to move on how that is incorporated in the district. He said the administration is forming an AI taskforce, and he will be talking about it soon with student leaders.
He spoke about attending a session last week, sponsored by The Rapides Foundation, on the topic, saying administrators saw “some really interesting examples of its usage.” He said the Louisiana Department of Education already has issued some guidance on AI.
Powell called the district proposal “fairly generic, just making sure everybody understands what AI is.”
Member Mark Dryden, who was chairing the meeting, agreed that the board needed to “get on top of this” as fast as they can because students already are ahead of them.
Barrios said he was concerned that students could use deepfakes against teachers. Powell told him existing policies would address that, if it should happen, and it is included in the proposed policy.
The policy presented during the meeting was copied from Ouachita Parish and includes definitions of terms associated with AI, as well as AI itself. It contains a section on ethical use and privacy, security and data protection.
The proposal also includes a section on academic integrity, how staff can use it and how its use will be monitored.
Maintenance/facilities proposal
Superintendent Jeff Powell presented the personnel committee with his proposal to realign the maintenance/facilities department, but members decided to hold it over until its November committee.
The reason for that was so that board members can review the proposal more thoroughly.
According to the proposal, an “appropriate re-organizational structure” could increase efficiency and effectiveness, allow school maintenance budgets to sustain and improve facilities, build accountability by aligning both personnel and resources with feeder systems and more.
Member Dr. Stephan Chapman asked Powell if the district would be able to fill all the positions under the realignment. Powell acknowledged the district competes with the private sector, where some salaries are higher. But he said the district might see more people interested in the positions once the plan is public.
Member Wally Fall said he would like to know how the district’s current employees in the department feel about the proposal.
Chaplains as volunteers
Powell introduced a motion to discuss and approve a new policy allowing chaplains to be volunteers within the district, which the education committee approved and sent to the full board.
The proposal comes from a 2024 law that allows school districts to hire chaplains or accept them as volunteers. It does not mandate school boards to do so, and the Rapides proposal only would accept them as volunteers.
The policy follows state law and allows for more than one chaplain to volunteer at a school, but prohibits anyone registered or required to register as a sex offender or child predator from volunteering. Any chaplains who volunteer must undergo state and federal background checks with fingerprints.
The proposal also shields a chaplain “for any action taken or statement made in adherence with the provisions for service, support and programs for students,” it reads. But that immunity does not extend to any actions or statements made by a chaplain if those were made “maliciously, willfully and deliberating intended to cause harm” to or harass or intimidate those seeking their assistance.
Powell said if the full board passes the policy, Rapides Parish could be the first district in the state to use the law.
Member Sandra Franklin asked if there was a limit on the faiths of those who volunteer, and Powell said no. That prompted a comment from Barrios, who asked if a Scientologist would “have the same right to do it as someone from what we considered traditional religions in this particular area.”
Powell again stated the policy does not include or exclude any faiths. It only seeks to certify chaplains through their religious affiliation, as well as the background checks.
