VIDALIA &045; After nearly two hours of executive session to discuss a grievance involving personnel, the Concordia Parish School Board voted 6 to 2 to move Vidalia Junior High Principal Henry Murphy to the Ferriday Alternative Center.

On recommendation of the board, Vice Principal Whest Shirley will serve as interim principal for the remainder of the school year.

Superintendent Kerry Laster said after the meeting an employee filed a grievance that was investigated and disposed of &045; another topic in executive session &045; but that the grievance was not the reason for the change in personnel.

&uot;Why did you make this decision to transfer a principal with such short time of school left?&uot; board Vice President Raymond Riley asked before the vote.

After being cautioned not to discuss personnel items in open session by board attorney Jon Guice, Laster said simply, &uot;All of my decisions have been based on what I think is best for all children&uot; at every school.

Audience members were vocal when Guice advised the board not to discuss personnel matters in open session, saying the purpose of executive session was to discuss those matters.

Throughout the crowd, many people could be heard saying, &uot;We need to know.&uot;

Guice advised the employee could make a statement in open session before the vote was taken, but Murphy did not.

Josephine Webster presented packets to each board member from &uot;concerned residents&uot; about the decision.

Riley called it a &uot;bad decision&uot; because of the time element and said he did not agree with it. Riley and Campbell voted against the motion.

&uot;I do not agree with this because proper procedures were not followed and school board policies were not followed,&uot; he said.

In other business, the board heard about a Reading First grant the district is applying for which could bring more than $3 million into the school system for reading in grades kindergarten through third grade.

Laster said all six school that house the grades are supposed to receive the funding but the district will find out at Thursday’s BESE board meeting if three received funding.

The grant would put an emphasis on reading with 120 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction for all students and additional time for students with specific needs.

Also Tuesday night, the board passed a resolution to add the eighth grade to Ridgecrest Elementary school if it would not interfere with the court order the district operates under.

As of now, when students leave Ridgecrest to go to the eighth grade, they attend one school and then go to another school for ninth grade.

This way, the students would not have to leave. To simulate the middle school experience, the classes would change classes.