VIDALIA, La. – Continuing a process that began more than eight months ago, the Concordia Parish School Board voted Tuesday to negotiate the lease of the Ferriday Kindergarten Center to the Town of Ferriday.

&uot;I don’t want to see the school sit idle, and Ferriday has a need for it,&uot; said Superintendent Dr. Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman.

The Town of Ferriday originally discussed leasing the building for use as a business incubator or as a place to locate a prospective industry.

The town now wants to lease the building on Kindergarten Road for use as a YMCA.

Board President Mike Grantham agreed it is a good idea for the school district to lease out the building.

&uot;(There is) no sense in the building sitting there doing nothing when someone else can utilize it,&uot; Grantham said.

The building has not been used since last spring because kindergartners now attend classes at Ferriday Lower Elementary.

In other business Tuesday, the board told Vidalia High School Band Director Herb Bassett he must follow his contract work for the district for one year after taking a one-year sabbatical. If he does not, he will have to refund the school board the amount of local funds it spent on his salary during the sabbatical.

&uot;You did an outstanding job, but you took a sabbatical that cost us local money,&uot; said Darrell Crofford, school board member. &uot;If you don’t want to return, we don’t want you, but we want our local funds back.&uot;

Bassett took a year off to work toward his doctorate. He has since received a job offer in another parish.

Teachers on sabbatical earn 65 percent of their regular salary, a combination of state and local funds.