VIDALIA, La. &045; Johnnie &uot;Red&uot; Robinson Jr. has been honored by a host of organizations, most recently the Louisiana Hall of Fame.

But on Tuesday night, the longtime Concordia Parish School District administrator and former Ferriday High coach seemed especially touched to be honored by the parish’s school board.

&uot;I’ve been honored to be associated with them,&uot; Robinson said, referring to the students, faculty, staff and administrators of the district.

Robinson served the district as a teacher and coach, principal, supervisor of federal programs and director of vocational-technical programs.

His stint as coach at Ferriday High yielded four state football championships and a 54-game winning streak at one point.

After being brought to the front of the board room and given a standing ovation, Robinson occasionally looked down at the framed resolution presented to him by Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman.

&uot;He means a lot to Ferriday and the whole community,&uot; said board member Ricky Raven, a student during Robinson’s tenure with the then-Ferriday Bulldogs.

&uot;He had to straighten me out sometimes,&uot; Raven said.

&uot;He had a tremendous influence on my life,&uot; said district Transportation Director H.L. Irvin. &uot;Maybe the most important lesson he taught me was on the football field: don’t ever quit.&uot;

Robinson was also active in youth sports outside the district and served on the Riverland Medical Center Board of Trustees.

In other business, the school board set a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. March 18 to vote on using some schools as polling places and to voted on a redistricting proposal presented by consultant Oliver Schultz.

Major changes would include moving the Levens Addition and Rabb Addition areas from District 5 to District 4 and the area from Stacy Road to Shaw from District 4 to District 5.

In other business, the board approved a school calendar for 2003-2004. That school year would begin Aug. 18, 2003, and end May 25, 2004, with the following holidays: Labor Day, Sept. 1, 2003; Thanksgiving holidays, Nov. 24-28, 2003; Christmas holidays, Dec. 22, 2003-Jan. 2, 2004; Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2004; and spring break, April 5-9, 2004.

Louisiana Educational Assessment Program Test, Iowa Test and Graduate Exit Exam testing will be held March 15-19, 2004, with retesting to be held July 6-8, 2004.