VIDALIA, La. — Third grade in Ferriday and Vidalia would be moved to upper elementary schools and pre-kindergarten added to lower elementaries under a plan recommended by the Concordia schools’ Curriculum Committee.

The Concordia Parish School Board voted Monday to let officials study the facilities, staffing, equipment and funding needed to make such changes. Officials should have that data in two weeks. The issue should be on the board’s March 7 agenda, Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman.

After the board approves the changes, board attorney Norman Magee will request court approval. Hearings will be held Feb. 14 in Vidalia and Feb. 15 in Ferriday to get public input on the proposed changes.

Fourth-graders have to pass the LEAP Test to pass to fifth grade. Having third-graders in the upper elementaries would allow those schools to more closely monitor what third-graders learn and better prepare them for LEAP, said Lillian Chester, Ferriday Upper Elementary principal and Curriculum Committee member.

The district will fund the two extra pre-K classes with federal Title I&160;funds, Peterman said. If third-graders are not moved to the upper elementaries, the lower elementaries will not have enough room for the pre-K classes, said Vidalia Lower Principal Gary Parnham.

&uot;And it would help with the (fourth grade) LEAP Test scores,&uot;&160;Parnham said. The parish’s below-average LEAP scores, especially in Ferriday, made headlines last year.

In other business, board members rescheduled a special meeting for 5 p.m. March 7 to discuss their salaries. The meeting was to be held before Tuesday’s regular meeting, but the special meeting was not advertised two times in the parish’s newspaper as required by state law. After the meeting, board member Ricky Raven reiterated that he would not be for increasing board salaries. &uot;I want make sure personnel are taken care of&uot; before board salaries, he said.

Earlier, Thomas O’Neal, director of business affairs, recommended the board not issue a 13th check to district employees this year due to lack of funds. The annual check amounts to $400 for certified personnel, $200 for uncertified employees and $100 for part-timers. No action was taken.

And board members voted to give Peterman the authority to protect the district’s interests with regards to Fruit of the Loom’s bankruptcy. The company owes the district an estimated $717,000 in taxes.