LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 12:30 P.M.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 at 12:30 p.m. at Hico Elementary School, 2253 Highway 545, Dubach, Louisiana. Members present were President Otha Anders, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Ms. Mattie Harrison, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. Flynn Ludley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Rob Shadoin and Ms. Jo Tatum.
Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Jim Kessler, and Mr. Ted McKinney were absent.
Prior to the business meeting, board members enjoyed a delicious lunch in the school cafeteria.
Mr. Anders called the meeting to order and Mr. Ludley gave the invocation. Ms. Harrison led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Ms. Tatum, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as changed: moving the three items of New Business involving resolutions for the Simsboro bond issue ahead of the Personnel Committee report and changing the last personnel agenda item from the ”termination” of an employee to the ”resignation” of an employee.
Principal of Hico Elementary, Vicky Key, welcomed guests to the school and invited them back at any time. She verbalized a few things they do in Hico that are a little different from the other elementary schools.
The time having arrived for the sale of $6,500,000 of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005 of Simsboro School District No. 3 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, scheduled for twelve thirty o’clock , 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, acting as the governing authority of Simsboro School District No. 3 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, as to what action was necessary in order to proceed with the reception of bids and sale of the Bonds.
The first order of business, according to Mr. Schlueter, was to open the bids received for the issue and to formally approve the official 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 have been furnished a copy of the same for their review and approval.
Mr. Schlueter confirmed that the Bonds had been assigned a rating of ’BBB+’ by Standard and Poors Corporation. Bond insurance raised the rating to ’AA’.
Mr. Schlueter then 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 September 13, 2005. It was then stated that the Notice of Bond Sale which had been issued on September 13, 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.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the following:
RESOLUTION
Providing for the opening of sealed bids received for the purchase of Six Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($6,500,000) of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005 of Simsboro School District No. 3 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 two bids had been received for the purchase of the Bonds. Bids on the Bonds which included bond insurance were received from:
Crews & Associates of Little Rock, Arkansas - 4.71%
Morgan Keegan & Co. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana - 4.36%
Mr. Schlueter wholeheartedly recommended acceptance of the bid of 4.36% from Morgan Keegan. He indicated that the excellent bid was well below the 5% figured used in initial planning. Bonds and monies would be delivered on December 1, 2005.
Upon a motion by Mr. Mitcham, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to approve the following:
RESOLUTION
Accepting the bid of Morgan Keegan & Co., for the purchase of Six Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($6,500,000) of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005 of Simsboro School District No. 3 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana.
The final resolution to complete the Bond sale was authorizing the incurring of debt and the issuance of bonds.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Ludley, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the following:
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the incurring of debt and issuance of Six Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2005, of Simsboro School District No. 3 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.
The Board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Personnel Committee agenda items were considered after being presented by Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services:
1. Retirement of Mildred Dade, effective October 3, 2005, as custodian at Choudrant Elementary.
2. Resignation of Kenny Rabon as custodian at Ruston Elementary effective September 26, 2005.
3. Employment of Jerry Touchstone, effective November 1, 2005, as custodian at Choudrant High replacing Jerome Jones who resigned.
4. Resignation of Todd Kennedy, custodian at Ruston High, effective October 3, 2005.
Upon a motion by Mr. Ludley, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to accept the personnel recommendations of the administration.
Net loss in the health insurance fund for August was $102,883 which brings the net loss for the first eight months of the year to $1,406,651, according to George Murphy, Business Manager. He said the Insurance Committee will meet later in the day to finalize plan changes to be presented to the Board on November 1, 2005.
Mary Null, Director of Instruction, Personnel, and Special Programs, reminded the Board that BESE provided a waiver for fourth and eighth graders having to pass the LEAP 21 this year due to the natural disasters that have occurred in the state. However, they gave the decision-making authority to local school districts in regards to making the LEAP 21 high stakes for students this year. A committee of principals and supervisors convened earlier in the month to review the district’s position relative to promotion of students in grades four and eight. After discussing the issue at length, they unanimously voted not to adjust testing plans for several reasons: 1) BESE will more than likely remove the waiver next year and require the LEAP 21 to become high stakes again. 2) The federal guidelines for No Child Left Behind have not been waived at this time; therefore, each school’s School Performance Score will be affected by the students’ performance on the LEAP 21 this year. 3) Lincoln Parish has always had high standards and expectations for our students. The Committee did not want to lower expectations even for a year. If students fail the test in the spring, they will be encouraged to attend summer remediation. Students will have the opportunity to retake the LEAP 21 in the summer as they have in past year.
Because sales tax collections have increased during the year, Mr. Murphy proposed a 5% increase in the amount of salary supplement checks. He recommended that certified employees receive $1481.29 instead of $1410 and $740.64 for non-certified employees instead of $705. He stated that the amount of these checks is based on actual collections, and there is no guarantee that the same amounts will be paid next year at this time.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to approve the disbursement of $1481.29 for certified and $740.64 for non-certified employees in a November salary supplement check.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Bell summarized a recent letter he received from State Representative Hollis Downs. After a joint meeting between the House and Senate, he feels confident that the school system will be compensated for the students in the district. Mr. Downs believes the MFP will be adjusted to address hurricane-related funding issues. Meetings are still being held with FEMA representatives.
Following several comments, the meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m.
_________________________ ___________________________________
Danny L. Bell, Secretary Otha L. Anders, President