LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Lincoln Parish School Board Office, 410 South Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were President Otha Anders, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Ms. Mattie Harrison, Ms. Lynda Henderson (arrived after the meeting began), Mr. Flynn Ludley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Ted McKinney, and Ms. Jo Tatum.
Mr. Jim Kessler was in Washington fulfilling Legislative Liaison obligations. Mr. Joe Mitcham and Mr. Rob Shadoin were also absent.
President Anders called the meeting to order. Mr. Dowling gave the invocation. Ms. Harrison led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mr. Anders welcomed board members, staff, members of the press, and special visitors.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Ms. Tatum, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Mack, seconded by Mr. Ludley, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on January 11, 2005 as distributed.
Ricky Edmiston, Secondary Supervisor, came before the Board and gave background information on the Student of the Year program. Each of the Lincoln Parish schools select a Student of the Year from three divisions: elementary (grade 5), junior high (grade 8), and high school (grade 12). Parish wide winners, selected from each division, go on to compete at the regional level and if successful there, at the state level. Mr. Edmiston introduced each of the parish winners, shared brief personal information about them, and allowed them to introduce their guests. On behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board, Superintendent Charles Scriber presented the following parish Students of the Year with plaques:
Elementary - Robert "Chauncey" Wiley, II - Alma J. Brown Elementary
Junior High - Shane Rich - Ruston Junior High
High School - Laura Hogan - Choudrant High
Mr. Anders congratulated the students, wished them luck in the regional competition, and challenged them to follow their dreams.
Ms. Lynda Henderson entered the meeting.
The time having arrived for the sale of $10,000,000 of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005 of Ruston School District No. 1 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, scheduled for six o'clock p.m., prior to the opening of bids, the President called upon Mr. Grant Schlueter of Foley & Judell, L.L.P., Bond Counsel, to advise the Lincoln Parish School Board as to what action was necessary in order to proceed with the reception of bids and sale of the Bonds.
Mr. Schlueter reported that the first order of business was to open the bids received for the issue and to formally approve the office Notice of Bond Sale and the Official Statement that was prepared and distributed to the purchaser in connection with the sale of the Bonds. He stated that the Official Statement had been prepared with the assistance of the officials and staff of the Governing Authority and the Assessor's office and other local public officials, and that all members of the Governing Authority had been furnished a copy of the same for their review and approval.
The President announced that it was time to open the sealed bids received for the purchase of the captioned Bonds, said Bonds having been advertised for sale by virtue of a resolution adopted on January 11, 2005. It was then stated that the Notice of Bond Sale which had been issued on January 11, 2005, calling for sealed bids for the purchase of the Bonds had been published in The Daily Journal of Commerce, New Orleans, Louisiana and the Ruston Daily Leader, Ruston, Louisiana, in their issues of January 18, 2005.
Mr. Schlueter confirmed that the Bonds had been assigned a rating of "A-" by Standard and Poor's Corporation which is among the best ratings of school boards across the state.
Upon a motion by Mr. George Mack, seconded by Mr. Curtis Dowling, that Board unanimously voted to adopt the following:
RESOLUTION
Providing for the opening of sealed bids received for the purchase of Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000) of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005 of Ruston School District No. 1 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, approving the Official Notice of Bond Sale and Official Statement in connection therewith, and authorizing the President and the Secretary of the Lincoln Parish School Board to sign copies thereof as evidence of the approval thereof.
After calling for sealed bids for the purchase of the Bonds, it was announced that four bids had been received for the purchase of the Bonds. Bids on the Bonds which included bond insurance were received from:
Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. of New Orleans, Louisiana - 3.943820%
SunTrust Capital Markets of Atlanta, Georgia - 3.955960%
Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota - 3.899258%
UBS Financial Services Inc. of Dallas, Texas - 3.913308%
After announcing that all of the firms will insure payment of the principal and interest effectively raising the issue to AAA, the most secure available, Mr. Schlueter wholeheartedly recommended acceptance of the bid of 3.89% from Legg Mason. He indicated that all of the bids were incredible and among the lowest he has seen in his 31 years of bond sales.
Upon a motion by Mr. Flynn Ludley, seconded by Mr. Ted McKinney, the Board unanimously voted to approve the following:
RESOLUTION
Accepting the bid of 3.899258% from Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc., Chicago, Illinois for the purchase of Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000) of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005 of Ruston School District No. 1 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana.
The final resolution to complete the Bond sale authorized the incurring of debt and the issuance of bonds.
Upon a motion by Ms. Lisa Best, seconded by Ms. Jo Tatum, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the following:
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the incurring of debt and issuance of Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000) of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005, of Ruston School District No. 1 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana; prescribing the form, terms and conditions of said Bonds; designating the date, denomination and place of payment of said Bonds; providing for the payment thereof in principal and interest; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.
As a point of information, Mr. Schlueter reminded the Board that the millage needed to bring in $33 million for the renovations and additions in the Ruston School District was estimated and levied at 18.95 mills. Because the bids on both bond sales came in substantially lower than the estimated interest rate and because of the 2004 reassessment, he recommended a 2-mill reduction to 16.95 mills on this year's tax roll. He also suggested review for further reduction next year after the final bond sale.
Upon a motion by Mr. George Mack, seconded by Mr. Curtis Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to reduce the bond millage for the Ruston School District on the 2005 tax roll from 18.95 mills to 16.95 mills.
Mr. Anders said board member committee assignments for 2005 were in packets and will stand as assigned by him.
The Board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Personnel Committee agenda items were considered after Danny Bell, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, shared items 1.-2., and Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services, shared 3.-5.:
1. Professional sabbatical request for 05-06, effective August 15, 2005, from John Wallace who is the Transition Coordinator located at Ruston High School.
2. Employment of Sarah Walsworth, effective January 10, 2005, as math teacher at Secondary Alternative School replacing Chrisman Harding who was uncertified.
3. Resignation of Arlene Torbor, custodian at Ruston Elementary, effective December 30, 2004.
4. Points of Reference/Transfers of the following effective February 1, 2005:
Angela Jackson from Simsboro High to custodian at Ruston Elementary replacing Arlene Torbor who resigned.
Joyce Jenkins from Simsboro High to custodian at I. A. Lewis in a new position.
5. Employment of the following custodians effective February 1, 2005:
Debra Jenkins at Simsboro High replacing Angela Jackson who transferred.
Janet McMurray at Simsboro High replacing Joyce Jenkins who transferred.
Sheila Newton at Choudrant Elementary replacing Danny Willis who retired.
Upon a motion by Ms. Tatum, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to accept the personnel recommendations from the administration.
According to George Murphy, Business Manager, January 2005 was a good month for sales tax collections as they were up about 3.65% from the same month last year. Year-to-date, those collections are up 2.43%. Audit recoveries were down slightly but year-to-date are up 4.86%. Collectively audit monies are up 2.43% for the year. Collected in the '67 and '79 fund was $452,125 and $271,274 was generated in the '93 and '00 funds.
Mary Null, Elementary Supervisor, told the Board that five of the elementary school principals (Cypress Springs, Glen View, Hillcrest, Ruston Elementary, and Lincoln Center for grades 4-7) had come to her requesting permission to look at the implementation of school uniforms at their schools. She said each of the schools formed a committee made up of teachers, staff members and administrators, to discuss the option. They surveyed their parents and with 80% of the surveys returned, 79% of the parents were in favor of school uniforms for next year. In January 2005 the principals reported the results of the surveys to their respective PTC organizations/representatives. Meetings were held to get input from all stakeholders and the response has been very positive. Representatives from the schools visited with area merchants about the price, availability, and styles of uniforms. All of the schools have agreed to use the same colors: red, white, or black solid-colored shirts and khaki pants so that it will be easy for parents to use uniforms from one year to the next and from one school to the next. None of the clothing can have any sort of logo. If approval is granted, parents will be notified several times in a variety of media about the uniform policy at each school before the students are dismissed for the summer. Ms. Null recommended that the Board grant permission to require students at those five Ruston elementary schools to wear uniforms beginning in the fall.
After brief questions by Board members, upon a motion by Mr. Ludley, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to give Cypress Springs, Glen View, Hillcrest, Ruston Elementary, and Lincoln Center (for grades 4-7) the authority to institute a school uniform policy for the 05-06 school year.
Superintendent Scriber introduced the subject of a Staff Development Day on Friday, Mary 6, 2005, and called on Ms. Null to explain the reasons for the request. In this the second year of implementation of a new curriculum, according to Ms. Null, Lincoln Parish schools have used the new state Model Curriculum. In April the final version of the new curriculum will be received which will be called the Comprehensive Curriculum. Staff development for the instructional staff is required in order to assure consistent implementation. In addition the parish has also been very proactive in requiring teachers to give LEAP-like assessment each grading period to expose the students to the high-stakes test format several times before they take the state tests in March. While teachers have been trained to write constructed responses, one of the required items on the cumulative assessments, time did not permit training on the rubrics, the grading instrument. Because of the importance of the initiatives and ample training and to allow teachers to use the summer months to prepare lesson plans and tests for next year, Ms. Null shared the administration's request to use May 6 as a staff development day. All instructional staff employees would report to Ruston High School for the Comprehensive Curriculum training and would go to their home school after lunch to receive rubric training. All non-instructional staff would remain at the school sites to carry on their regular daily duties.
Upon a motion by Ms. Tatum, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to close school on May 6, 2005 in order for all instructional employees to receive training on the Comprehensive Curriculum and constructed response rubrics.
The final item on the agenda was remarks from Ted McKinney, board member from District 12, who had requested to be placed on the agenda. He indicated his desire to ask for some things because the children in the Cypress Springs area need help. Mr. McKinney reminded others that Cypress Springs is a School in Decline. After collecting maps of school board members' districts, city and parish maps, and those with school attendance zones; sending out surveys to residents of the area and teachers at the school; collecting data from the school and central office, knocking on doors and calling adults in his district; and meeting with all interested parties; he has come to the conclusion that there are two significant areas that are missing: parental and community involvement. In addition, according to his figures 30% of the student population changed in the first semester of the year with students transferring into and out of the school. Mr. McKinney shared other facts and statistics regarding Cypress Springs and closed by pleading with the other eight board members who have Cypress Springs students in their district to get their students' parents actively involved and help stop the revolving door at the school.
After Mr. Anders thanks Mr. McKinney for bringing this to the Board's attention, Superintendent Scriber commented that we live in a very mobile society and this has been a problem at all of the school for several years. However, he has been proactive with school improvement, especially at Cypress Springs, and has instituted several initiatives in an attempt to increase the students' success. He had Ms. Null mention some of those initiatives.
Following that, as there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
________________________ ____________________________
Charles R. Scriber, Secretary Otha L. Anders, President