District 6 Winn Parish School Board member Michael Riffe has tendered his resignation with the Secretary of State’s Office, citing health reasons, it was revealed at the board’s committee session Monday night.
Supt. Al Simmons presented a plaque from the board to Riffe for his service to the district during that March 31 session. He noted that Riffe had submitted the required paperwork to Secretary of State by mail a week earlier but when no confirmation had been received, he re-submitted his notification online.
A Tuesday afternoon notice from the School Board Office indicated that communication has been received and the vacancy declared for the District 6 School Board seat. “Residents of that district who have an interest in being appointed to fill that vacancy until a special election may be held should submit a letter of interest and resume’ to Superintendent of Schools Al Simmons no later than the close of business Thursday, April 10, 2025,” the board’s notice reads.
Based on discussion, with the Secretary of State’s confirmation, the board now has a 20-day period during which to name an interim District 6 member who would serve until a special election is held. If that is the case, Simmons said a special-called meeting of the board may be in order.
That determination and an election date to fill the vacancy will be up to the Secretary of State’s Office.
In other action, Dr. Bob Jordan gave an update on the school district’s efforts against truancy. He advised members that truancy figures have improved over the past 12 months as the Winn district has coordinated efforts with the FINS program in the District Judge’s Office, with officer Aleta Hoffman.
FINS (Families in Need of Services), he said that he’s come to understand by working with them through these months, is not a program to punish children and families for nonattendance but rather a “stopgap measure to help keep children and families from getting into the court system in the first place. When students stay in school, they are more likely to become productive members of society.”
Jordan told members that Winn schools have about a 90% attendance rate. Truancy rates (compared to a year ago) have improved monthly since a marked improvement of 19.1% in August. The only downturn in absenteeism came in November (29.1% worse) but the board was reminded that was when flu hit the school system.
Local efforts to improve school attendance have included designating an attendance liaison at each school, not necessarily the guidance counselor since not all schools have one. They coordinate with the affected families and the FINS office. Meetings twice a semester bring together these liaisons, principals, central office, FINS and the Sheriff’s Office. There have been regional virtual training sessions.
