VIDALIA &045; Concordia Parish has 416 new students, limited educational records, not enough textbooks, crowded classrooms and plenty of questions.

So top administrators are heading to Baton Rouge today to tell the state’s board of education what they are facing and get some answers.

Superintendent Kerry Laster said Monday she’s worried about state accountability rankings, attendance records and funding.

&uot;I’ve got overloaded classes with kids that came in from everywhere, many who are very, very (academically) weak, weaker than ours,&uot; Laster said. &uot;Are we going to be accountable for those kids that we haven’t had?&uot;

Louisiana issues School Performance Scores each year based on test scores and attendance figures.

Schools that fail to meet state benchmarks receive consequences, including being labeled &uot;academically unacceptable,&uot; a title three Ferriday schools got this year. &uot;Unacceptable&uot; schools have to offer special programs, offer school choice and write improvement plans.

Attendance numbers &045; also a factor in state rankings &045; are fluctuating daily with evacuees who come and go quite frequently.

&uot;We’ve got kids who up and leave, those are considered dropouts,&uot; Laster said.

And the school still hasn’t received any final word on what additional state or federal money will be coming its way.

So far the district has bought new desks, chairs and lockers. But more is needed.

&uot;I’ve tried to hold it to a minimum,&uot; Laster said. &uot;I’m in dire need of textbooks. But I’m very concerned; I don’t want to over spend. I’ve been extremely cautious.&uot;

Laster hasn’t hired needed new teachers, though she said finding them has also been difficult.

Ferriday Lower Elementary has 59 new students, and Ferriday High School has 71. Every parish school has new students; the lowest number is 15 at Ridgecrest. Monterey has 32, and all other schools have at least that many.

Laster said she’s hopeful she’ll get answers today.

&uot;I think they will give us some concession, but I don’t know what,&uot; she said.

Director of Academic Affairs Fred Butcher and Director of Federal Programs Julius Huhn are also going to the meeting.

Superintendents from the northern and central Louisiana districts that received evacuees have already voted to ask that accountability standards be lowered this year.

This is the first Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting since Katrina hit.