The Evangeline Parish School Board, Wednesday, met and discussed the different options for the opening of school in August. Superintendent of Schools Darwan Lazard told board members that a lot will depend upon what phase the state will be in by August 10, the date classes are expected to start in Evangeline Parish public schools. Currently, due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in the state, the governor has decided to keep the state in Phase two for another 30 days. The superintendent assured board members and the public that there will be school for school students in August. He said his office is getting daily updates from the governor, the state department of health and the state department of education. Supt. Lazard and Assistant Supt. Mike Lombas are promoting the new Evangeline Virtual Academy that will give parents an alternative if they are concerned about Covid-19. The academy will operate from Evangeline Central and will allow students to take all of the necessary courses for their grade level in the safety of their home. Students will be loaned a chrome book and will have access to a local teacher if they problems completing their assignment. So far, some 100 students have signed up from throughout the parish. Supt. Lazard met with school nurses earlier this week to come up with protocols for the opening of school for the safety and health of students and the staff. In other business, Supt. Lazard said he is cautiously optimistic that President Trump will permit an exemption to allow French Immersion teachers to travel to Louisiana. A recent order by the president would prohibit foreign workers to travel to the United States to protect American workers. Here in Evangeline Parish, the school system has Ville Platte Elementary and Mamou Elementary with a French Immersion program and employs foreign teachers through Codofil. In other action, board member Michael Fontenot had questions over the use of parish maintenance funds to purchase textbooks rather than using federal stimulus funds . Chief Financial Officer Amy Lafleur said the parish wide maintenance fund has been used for years for the overall operation of the school system . Fontenot asked for a breakdown on where the stimulus money is being spent on. The board approved the textbook purchase using maintenance funds with board members Michael Fontenot and Wanda Skinner voting no.