PURVIS SELECTED TO BE NEW SUPERINTENDENT
The Livingston Parish School Board on Monday, April 15, selected Jody Purvis to serve as the next superintendent of schools.
Purvis replaces Joe Murphy who is retiring at the end of June. Purvis started April 22 as Murphy announced he would take leave through the end of his contract on June 30.
“I’ve had experience in all grade levels from elementary all the way to the high school levels. I think that I have seen a lot and I do have some insight here. Hopefully, I can use that insight and develop a plan to move forward with our school system,” Purvis said.
Purvis said during his interview that his enthusiasm and motivation to act “will forge a strong, united team of educators and community partners motivated to further excel the educational opportunities for our students.”
Purvis has been with Livingston Parish Public Schools since 1998, beginning as a teacher at Springfield High and Denham Springs Freshman High before advancing to assistant principal at Southside Junior High and Springfield Middle. He served as principal at Springfield High and French Settlement Elementary before being appointed as the supervisor of high school instruction for the district in 2012. Purvis was named assistant superintendent in 2019.
Purvis earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in education from Southern University.
BOARD APPROVES RESTRUCTURING OF SALARY SCHEDULE
The Livingston Parish School Board recently approved a plan to adjust the district’s salary schedule to reflect recommendations made by a third-party consulting service.
LEAN Frog, a nationally recognized expert in providing operational and programmatic assessments of education organizations, recently conducted a Comprehensive Organizational Review and Compensation Review that provided recommendations on how the district could improve to be more in alignment with like-sized and top-performing school districts in the state.
The board agreed to adjust its pay schedule to represent more steps in pay increases and to better account for higher degree ranks among its employees. Livingston Schools currently has 26 steps for its employees with only 18 pay increases built into those steps, whereas most peer pay schedules include 30 steps and provide for pay increases at all steps.
The new plan aligns and equalizes the district’s salary schedule in a 30-step structure, normalizes annual increases each year, standardizes values for advanced degree attainment and corrects indexing to accurately reflect salaries to establish a competitive range of salaries from starting pay to ending pay. The proposal also addresses those salaries that are more than 10% below their peers across all steps and degrees.
The changes, which will go into effect July 1, with the 2024-2025 fiscal year, reflect a $4.5 million increase in the district’s annual budget.
DISTRICT RECOGNIZES TOP PERFORMERS
School leaders with Livingston Parish Public Schools held a district-wide ceremony of celebration March 26 to honor those students, teachers, principals, and staff workers who have been recognized as top performers in their respective categories. At the same time, those schools receiving academic achievement awards from the Louisiana Department of Education were also recognized.
The top awards included the following:
Livingston Parish Students of the Year — Pictured from left to right are the 2024 Middle School Student of the Year Hudson Graham, Walker Junior High School; Superintendent Joe Murphy; 2024 Elementary School Student of the Year Kendall Vaughan, South Fork Elementary; Kendall is also the Louisiana District 6 finalist for Student of the Year; and 2024 High School Student of the Year Caszandra Dante, Walker High School.
Livingston Parish Teachers of the Year — Pictured from left to right are the 2024 Elementary Teacher of the Year Jessica Edwards, Southside Elementary; 2024 Middle School Teacher of the Year Amanda Brian, Denham Springs Junior High; Superintendent Joe Murphy; and 2024 High School Teacher of the Year Ann Harrison, Live Oak High School.
Livingston Parish New Teacher of the Year – Pictured are Superintendent Joe Murphy and 2024 New Teacher of the Year Winner Skyler Champlin, Springfield High School.
Livingston Parish Support Staff Worker of the Year – Pictured are Superintendent Joe Murphy and 2024 Support Staff Worker of the Year Ashley Guzzardo, North Corbin Junior High School. Guzzardo is also a semifinalist for the Louisiana Staff Worker of the Year competition.
Livingston Parish Principals of the Year – Pictured left to right are the 2024 Middle School Principal of the Year David Clark, principal of Walker Junior High; 2024 Elementary School Principal of the Year Ginger Bishop, principal of Northside Elementary; Superintendent Joe Murphy; and 2024 High School Principal of the Year Beth Jones, principal of Live Oak High School. Jones is also a semifinalist for the Louisiana Principal of the Year competition.