The Iberia Parish School Board voted to appoint the superintendent and board president to the newly created industrial tax exemption board for Iberia Parish at Wednesday’s meeting. 

The board, which was newly created following a proclamation from Gov. Jeff Landry, will organize representatives from various parish governing bodies into a consolidated board to determine whether businesses should be granted an ITEP exemption when they apply. 

Authorizations of ITEP exemptions have been in dispute in recent years. Previously, if a company wanted to apply for an exemption it would have to go to individual boards like the school board, parish council and sheriff’s office for the exemption. 

“Basically what it’s going to be now is you’ll never see the request for a tax exemption come before a school board,” legal counsel Wayne Landry said at the meeting. “You’ll have what you call an ITEP Local Committee.”

The committee will be composed of representatives from the school board, parish governing authority, municipalities (if applicable) and the sheriff’s office. Other representatives, like those from local economic districts, can also be on the committee but only the previously mentioned will have voting authority on the committee. 

“Only the ad valorem taxing bodies will have a vote,” Landry said. “I guess what it is, if someone wants an exemption from the school board, then school board members would have to attend that meeting.”

The new body will also be an “all or nothing” model, when previously exemptions from one governing body could grant an exemption while another could reject it. 

“That’s not quite clear, but that’s what I understand,” Landry said. 

In other business, the board chose to approve stipends for qualified Child Nutrition Program employees in the school district. 

The stipend is available thanks to the department having a net positive balance, and the department is required by federal law to spend any funds that exceed an allowable three-month operational expense account. 

“This is something we did last year,” Assistant Superintendent Neely Moore said. “It’s the same as last year to spend down the funds.”

The stipend will be based on attendance, timely completion and USDA training and years of service. If approved, employees will get $500 for employee attendance, $400 for USDA training and $100 for every five years of service. 

“It’s a use it or lose it thing,” board member Jay McDonald said. “We don’t want to lose it.”