BY MARY KATHRYN CARPENTER

NATCHEZ — The renewal of Concordia Parish School District Superintendent Paul Nelson’s contract was tabled Tuesday night after an approximate 40-minute closed door meeting.

School board members met to discuss the personnel issue in executive session during the board’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday.

Nelson moved to have the topic tabled until after elections for new school board members this winter.

“My contract does not expire until June of 2015,” Nelson said. “We will probably wait to revisit the topic in the spring.”

School Board President Raymond Riley praised Nelson for his work thus far as superintendent.

“We commend Dr. Nelson for the increase of test scores in Ferriday,” Riley said. “We are looking forward to a successful school year.”

ACT test scores in Ferriday have gone up 8 percent, with 18 percent of students scoring at least 27 points out of a possible 36.

Nelson and Riley each have goals they hope to meet in the upcoming school year.

“Parental involvement is a major issue in our school system,” Riley said. “That is an area we need to work on this year.”

Nelson’s concerns deal mainly with personnel in the schools.

“We are still trying to staff a few places,” Nelson said. “Most of the schools are full, but there are a few positions to fill. We are also working on staff development by sending a lot of people to different workshops.”