VIDALIA — Concordia Parish School Board Superintended Paul Nelson’s three-year contract has been extended by one year.

School Board President Raymond Riley said although Nelson has done a good job in his position, the board decided to present him with a one-year contract instead of a new three-year contract.

“Education wise, (Nelson’s has) done a pretty good job,” Riley said.

Riley said he likes to look at things as a boss.

“There are some things that we have talked to the superintendent about,” Riley said. “I’m looking at improvements of our school scores, graduations percentages and overall performance.”

While having his contract extended to one year, Nelson was also given a $4,000 raise — increasing his base salary to $102,000 annually.

“I appreciate the confidence from the board, and I’m ready to lead this system in the future,” Nelson said.

Nelson said although there are a number of challenges to face with changes in the curriculum, he and the board will work hard to provide services and programs for area students.

Nelson’s contract decision was decided on a 7-1 vote during the board’s monthly meeting, with one member abstaining.

Board member Ricky Raven voted no to extend Nelson’s contract.

Raven said extending Nelson’s contract by one year, while also providing a raise, only sends mixed messages to the parish.

“The one year contract, to me, doesn’t show a lot of confidence,” Raven said. “We have a good system, but there is more room for improvement.”

However, Riley said the raise was presented to Nelson after looking at neighboring parishes where salaries for superintendents were higher.

“That position hasn’t had a raise in a while here,” Riley said.

Raven said the morale is low in the school system and the board will need to be more proactive in listening to their teachers and employees to improve the parish in the near future.

“If everything was going well in the system, he should have been given a bigger contract. To me, a $4,000 raise does not match the one-year contract. I’m sure that our teachers would like to have a raise as well.”