VIDALIA &8212; Paul Nelson will leave his post at Vidalia Junior High School in the coming weeks and step into the role of director of academics.

The Concordia Parish School Board appointed Nelson to the post at Tuesday night&8217;s meeting. The position has been open for several months after Fred Butcher left to become athletic director at the Natchez schools.

Nelson has been VJHS principal for the last two years. He was principal at Vidalia Lower for one year and assistant principal at VJHS before that.

&8220;One of the first goals is to improve test scores in Ferriday,&8221; Nelson said after Tuesday&8217;s meeting. &8220;That&8217;s the first task parish-wide, but at the same time, improving scores throughout the parish.&8221;

Nelson also said he wants to work to heighten the sense of ownership teachers, parents and the community have in the schools.

&8220;Sometimes teachers need to feel they are a part of the team,&8221; he said. &8220;I want to work on that.&8221;

Board members Raymond Riley and Mary Campbell voted against the superintendent&8217;s recommendation to hire Nelson.

The district interviewed five candidates &8212; all from within the district. Superintendent Kerry Laster said Nelson was the most qualified.

Nelson has a doctorate and is certified in regular and special education on the elementary and secondary levels.

As Nelson transitions from VJHS to the central office, the junior high&8217;s assistant principal, Whest Shirley, and two administrative assistants will handle school duties. The district will advertise for a principal, Laster said.

Also at the meeting, several board members expressed their displeasure with the way a contract with Durham School Services has been handled. The board turned the management of bus transportation over to the company at the start of the school year.

On Tuesday&8217;s agenda was approval of two bus policies related to the hiring of substitute drivers. In the past drivers have been responsible for getting their own substitute if they took a day off, Transportation Supervisor Tommy Lanius said. The new policies put Durham in charge of finding substitutes.

&8220;The shortage of subs made it hard for anyone to find one,&8221; he said. &8220;This is allowing them to have their day off.&8221;

Drivers who own their own buses can request a specific sub, Lanius said.

Several board members questioned the contract as a whole and said they were not happy with the decision to let the company handle transportation. The board approved the contract with the company by majority during the summer.

&8220;This will not die until everybody buys into it and does it for Durham,&8221; board member Jerry Roberts said. &8220;We all need to buy into it for four years. After four years we vote it out if we don&8217;t want it. We&8217;ve got to get these kids to school and we&8217;ve got to stop all this turmoil.&8221;

Roberts said he hears complaints daily from drivers about the way the district handled the contract. Drivers requested raises and a higher operational allowance for months, and many were not happy when the district opted to pay that money to a private company.

Martha Rabb, Campbell and Riley voted against approving the policies.