LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 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 Mr. Otha Anders, Mr. Michael Barmore, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Ms. Mattie Harrison, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. Eddie Jones, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. George Mack, and Mr. Ted McKinney, and Mr. Joe Mitcham.
No board member was absent.
President Otha Anders called the meeting to order, and Mr. Jones gave the invocation. Ms. Harrison led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mr. Anders welcomed visitors to the meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on September 8, 2009.
The school board has no use for the structures on recently-acquired property adjacent to Ruston High and on the two parcels in Choudrant. Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services, requested permission to dispose of them in accordance with state bid law and applicable board policies.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to dispose of the aforementioned structures through the bid process and if unsuccessful with the bid process, to accept the best offer.
As a result of upgrading the home economics department at Ruston Junior High, two electric stoves and one gas stove are no longer needed. Charles Owens asked permission to dispose of that equipment in accordance with state bid law and applicable board policies.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise the stoves and sell to the highest bidder.
Mr. Owens communicated that the computer lab at Dubach High was upgraded, and various pieces of outdated computers and a printer no longer needed for instruction. He asked the Board to declare the equipment as junk so it could be disposed.
Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted to declare the computers and a printer at Dubach High as surplus or junk and grant permission to dispose of according to applicable board policy.
The Board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Personnel Committee agenda items were considered after Mary Null, Director of Instruction, Personnel, and Special Programs, presented 1.-4., Brenda Theodos, Supervisor of Child Nutrition Program, presented 5., and James Payton, Transportation Coordinator, presented 6:
Points of Reference/Transfers of the following:
Emily Crum from special education to math teacher at I. A. Lewis, effective September 17, 2009, replacing Charlene Best who is deceased; and
Alexa Ginn from Youth Rescue Center to special education at Ruston High, effective September 8, 2009, replacing Glenn Dowden who resigned.
Professional sabbatical leave request from January 11, 2010, through May 26, 2010, from Jennifer Green, English teacher at Simsboro High.
Leave without pay request from Sheila Barber, academic interventionist at Glen View, effective September 28, 2009.
Employment of the following:
Janet Burse as special education teacher at I. A. Lewis, effective September 29, 2009, replacing Emily Crum who transferred; and
Lindsay Beggs as English/language arts at Ruston High, effective September 14, 2009, replacing Katherine Keil who resigned.
Employment of Tina Dowing as school food service technician at Hillcrest, effective October 1, 2009, replacing Cassandra Lang who resigned.
Retirement of the following bus drivers in the Ruston district effective October 1, 2009:
Mary Austin; and
Pete Theodos.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to accept the personnel recommendations.
Wanda Mitchell, technology coordinator, reported on the status of the new network. She noted that a year has passed since permission was granted to change the Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), and Internet provider. The system was under contract with Trillion for approximately five years. In essence the Trillion network could not meet the technological needs on a daily basis. After receiving approval in November, a contract was entered into with Nexus Systems in January 2009. The network is almost complete; we now have a fiber optic dedicated connection at 1,000 mb/s per second connecting the Ruston schools and the central office. The outlying schools have FCC licensed microwave connections at 300 mb/s per second. More and more demands are being placed on the network. The network supports distance learning, state-mandated end-of-course testing, e-grant submission, state submissions to the department of education, software applications deployed across the WAN, and the list goes on. We now have a network that can meet the current and future demands in her opinion. There is so much to be proud of in Lincoln Parish, and the new network is just one more component. She closed by thanking the Board for approving the recommendation of the committee so that the system could make this vital change.
Debbie Pender, Technology Instructional Facilitator, said the Lincoln Parish School System was one of thirteen parishes to receive a portion of the state’s Title II, Part D allotment of $11.5 million in stimulus funds. A competitive grant, which could serve only one high school in the district, was submitted. She was proud to announce that Lincoln Parish was one of two parishes to receive the maximum award of $500,000. Because Ruston High has the largest number of students and teachers, it was believed that targeting this high school would have the greatest impact. The award, which will be used to create a technology-rich learning environment for our students, will be spent on professional development and technology equipment such as Smartboards, document cameras, software, and licenses.
In September the Lincoln Health Foundation awarded the system two grants announced Kay Bradford, Grant Writer. The first grant which was for $11,660 and was entitled Smart Bodies will focus on Ruston Elementary and Cypress Springs. This grant promoted increased physical activity in children, increased knowledge of nutrition by both teachers and students, and increased parental knowledge of the benefits of proper nutrition and physical activity. The second grant is an extension of the HEALS grant, and the award is for $184,950.90. These monies will be used to purchase nursing supplies for all of the schools; specialized equipment to assist in vision and hearing screening; dental screenings for all third graders in the parish; and dental care, school uniforms, and dental health services for indigent students. In addition, a school nurse will be contracted to work in the schools reducing the current nurse-student ratio of 1:2,837 to 1:1,891.
George Murphy, Business Manager, reported that sales tax collections have decreased for eight consecutive months. The past three months’ decreases have been in the 30% range. Year-to-date those collections are down 32%. He predicted October’s collections could be down between 40% and 50%. He believes that if there are decreases in collections in November and December, they will not be to that magnitude but more in the 30% range. Recoveries through audits were $46,336 for the month. Taxes recovered by audits were down 42% for the year. In the 67 and 79 funds, $451,726 was collected, and $542,070 was added to the 93 and 00 funds. Reasons for the drop were decreases in oil and gas extraction, industrial machinery and equipment, and automotive dealers and service stations.
In presenting the financial statement for the month ending August 2009, Mr. Murphy noted that the General Fund was up to $3.3 million year-to-date. He called attention to the ending balances, and said the General Fund was up to a little over $9 million. The five mill maintenance fund was showing a deficit but will correct itself when collections are received from the sheriff. Although sales tax collections have decreased, reserves were still reflected in the balances of the 79, 67, 93, and 00 sales tax funds. Those can be used, if necessary, to level out expenses.
Mr. Murphy noted that the self insurance health benefits program showed a loss of $644,758 for the month ending August 31, 2009. After eight months of results, year-to-date the fund is still in the black with an excess of assets over expenditures of $153,288. The reasons for the loss for the month were the number of claims being up 26% from the average and the dollar amount of claims being up 37% from the average. There are also reserves in the health care fund.
Nine responses were received from library book vendors according to Wanda Mitchell. A group of librarians met to examine the bids to determine which vendor provided the best bid, product, and service. The two lowest priced vendors with an adequate number of available titles and a quality product were selected. She asked for permission to contract with those vendors.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to contract with Baker & Taylor and Bound to Stay Bound as library book vendors for the 09-10 school year with an option to renew each contract for the 10-11 school year.
During the last session the Louisiana Legislature sent several Acts to the governor’s office which impacted school board operations, communicated Ms. Null. In order to comply with the Acts, Forethought Consulting recommended the following policy revisions: Employee Use of Telephones and Other Electronic Telecommunications Devices (GAMI), Electronic Communications Between Employees and Students (GAMIA), Employment of Personnel (GBD), Employee Conduct (GBRA), Truancy (JBE), Discipline (JD), Suspension (JDD), Expulsion (JDE), and Administration of Medication (JGCD); and one deletion: Discipline of Students with Disabilities (JDF). She asked members to review the proposed policy changes until the next board meeting.
The State Department of Insurance has issued guidelines relating to Uninsured Motorist coverage. Mr. Murphy said each school system is required to include in the board minutes a consent item authorizing the Superintendent to sign the Uninsured Motorist form. He asked for adoption of a Resolution authorizing the Superintendent to do the same.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. McKinney, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the following:
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the superintendent to sign the required Louisiana Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist form reflecting the selection of or rejection of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Coverage.
Charles Owens reported that a parcel of property located adjacent to Simsboro High which is approximately 12.81 acres had been listed for sale. The advertised property runs adjacent to the Board’s eastern parcel of land and goes back to the north as far as the railroad. Due to the fact that Simsboro High is land-locked and limited land is available for any future expansion of facilities, the administration felt this would be a wise purchase. He requested permission to move forward with the purchase since the appraisal came in at or below the advertised price.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to the superintendent and/or his designee to move forward to negotiate the purchase of approximately 12.81 acres of property adjacent to Simsboro High School with the purchase price not to exceed the appraisal amount.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Bell said:
A bond election is coming up in the Choudrant School District on October 17. He hopes all goes well and there is a positive vote in the Choudrant community.
The next regular scheduled meeting is scheduled for October 21, 2009, at I. A. Lewis School instead of Hico Elementary. Invitations to the dedication of the library at 11:15 on that same day were included in board packets. The Woodard family has generously refurbished the library at I. A. Lewis with furniture and technology in memory of their sister, Jackie Woodard Whitlock, a former teacher and supervisor with the Lincoln Parish School System. The presentation will be followed by lunch at noon and the board meeting at 12:30.
Test scores and School Performance Scores (SPS) which were originally expected by the end of September have still not been received from the state. If those are received by the mid-October board meeting, that item will be placed on the agenda. There are some concerns with calculations which will be shared at the appropriate time.
Proactive measures are being taken to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus which included notes home to parents with suggestions for them, the distribution of antibacterial soap to the schools, and meetings with the maintenance staff to insure a safe and healthy learning environment. Some schools are experiencing higher absenteeism rates because of a flu-like virus which could not be confirmed as H1N1. Choudrant High School’s absenteeism rate had risen to 21% but as of today was down to 8.6%. Ruston High School currently has the largest absenteeism rate of 10.83%. According to the coding, none of those cases are truly the flu. Simsboro High seems to have the most students out with the flu with 5 students and a 5.61% absenteeism rate as of today. They will continue to monitor the numbers and the data that is input at each of the schools. School is generally cancelled when 33% of the student population is out. At this point he believes there is nothing to be greatly alarmed about.
After comments from several board members and upon a motion by Mr. Jones, the meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
____________________________ _____________________________
Danny L. Bell, Secretary Otha L. Anders, President