VIDALIA — Concordia Parish School Superintendent Paul Nelson resigned Thursday night at the school board meeting.

After the meeting, Nelson said he would not be returning after the first of the year.

“I’d like to thank all the staff, supervisors and principals over the last four years of me being here,” Nelson said. “And I would certainly like to wish everyone the best in the future.”

Nelson, who grew up in the area and worked in the district for more than 20 years, was named interim superintendent in May 2012 after the resignation of Loretta Blankenstein. Nelson was chosen for the permanent position later that summer.

The school board sent what was arguably a mixed message about its approval of Nelson earlier this year when the board gave him a pay raise in February but only agreed to extend his contract by one year, instead of the customary three-year extension.

School board president Raymond Riley Sr. said he had known Nelson was going to resign before the meeting.

“He just chose to leave, and we’re going to leave it at that,” Riley said.

The motion came after the board went into executive session to discuss Nelson’s contract.

When the board returned, Board member John Bostic moved to accept Nelson’s resignation within terms of the contract. Board member Ronnie Bradford seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

4The board also motioned to go into executive session to discuss updates on legal matters.

The discussion pertained to a motion the board made in 2014, saying Delta Charter School did not comply with conditions placed on it when it opened. After the meeting board attorney Robert Hammonds said the conditions pertained to the school’s size and racial make-up.

A federal judge ordered the CPSB, Delta Charter and the U.S. Justice Department into mediation.

After returning from executive session, board member Fred Butcher motioned to authorize the attorney to continue negotiations and was seconded by Bostic.

The motion passed 6-2 since Bradford and Raven voted against and board member Warren Enterkin had to leave early.

4 The winners were also announced for the district-wide Concordia Parish School Board’s Christmas Card Art Contest.

The winners for Pre-K through second grade were first-grader Jaden Lee and second-grader Hope Jordan in first place, kindergartener Isabella Young in second place and first-grader Kolbi Brown in third place.

The winners for third grade through fifth grade were all fifth-graders. Kyshaune McCullar placed first, Orquavious Jefferson came in second and Keya’Nasia Scott came in third.

For junior high school, the winners were seventh-grader Grace Montpelier in first place, eighth-graders McKenzie Thompson and Chesney Seals in second place and seventh-grader Jada Posey in third place.

The winners for the high school division were all 11th-graders. Octavia Sims won first place, Madison Carney won second and Hilary Saunders and Madison Taliaferro tied for third place.