LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, March 8, 2011, 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 Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. Otha Anders, Mr. Michael Barmore, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Mattie Harrison, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. Eddie Jones, Mr. George Mack, and Mr. Joe Mitcham.
No board member was absent.
President Anders called the meeting to order, and the invocation was given by Mr. Hancock. Ms. Harrison led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mr. Anders welcomed board members and visitors to the meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Sessions held on February 1, 2011, and February 16, 2011, as distributed.
Cathi Cox-Boniol, Project ACHIEVE Coordinator, was delighted to inform the Board that two more students from Lincoln Parish have been selected as National Merit Finalists. She summarized what the students had gone through before making it to the top .5% of seniors in the nation. Ms. Cox-Boniol introduced Elizabeth Sawyer and Valerie Wheat from Ruston High and allowed them to introduce their guests. She presented a plaque to the students in recognition of being selected as National Merit Finalists.
She also had the pleasure of recognizing Project INVEST, a service learning program which was a collaboration with Louisiana Tech’s IDEA Place. Lindsey Keith-Vincent, Project Director with the IDEA Place, had participating students from Dubach High, Grambling High, and Ruston High help her present a recent project, raindrop sculptures spotlighting water conservation, to their principals. Their hard work this year and last earned them an invitation to the National Youth Leadership Council conference in Atlanta next month. Ms. Keith-Vincent also presented certificates to Track Kavanaugh and Cathi Cox-Boniol to express appreciation to them for their support of Project INVEST.
Because the Board’s election districts have significant variation in population, District Attorney Andy Shealy offered a resolution relative to reapportionment. Eight of the twelve districts are outside the 5% acceptable deviation from the mean. He announced that a public hearing is set for Monday at 6:30 at the Library Events Center for comments on redistricting for the Board and the Policy Jury. Mr. Shealy said community residents may submit plans to Courtney Hall, Parish Administrator, but they must cover all twelve of the districts.
Historically, the Presidents of the Board and Jury have each appointed members to study and evaluate the census data and make a recommendation pertaining to districts to be approved by both bodies and the Justice Department prior to the qualifying dates for the next election. President Anders announced that he had selected Ms. Best, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Mack to serve on the reapportionment committee.
Upon a motion by Mr. Mitcham, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to adopt the Resolution relative to the election districts of the Lincoln Parish School Board and name Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Eddie Jones, and Mr. George Mack to serve on the 2011 Joint Redistricting Committee.
When the site plan was developed for Choudrant Elementary, a driveway passed in front of the school extending to Walker Road on the east and Rodeo Road on the west. Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services, said the plan was modified because of concerns with cost over-runs prior to bidding the project. As a consequence of shortening the driveway, it became necessary to rework the slopes and decrease elevations near the building in order to get sufficient drainage which resulted in a $5,540.63 change order. He recommended that the Board approve the change order.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board unanimously voted to approve the change order adding $5,540.63 to the Choudrant Elementary project for the aforementioned reasons.
George Murphy, Business Manager, reported that $899,034 was collected in sales taxes during the month of February 2011. This was a 1.96% decrease for the month, but a 4.78% increase year-to-date. Between the months of January 2011 and February 2011, the fund dropped a little over 5%. The primary reason for that was a decrease in oil and gas extraction activity. Recoveries through audits were $10,213 which was down 41% compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date that fund was down about 1.833%. In the 1967 and 1979 sales tax funds, $408,652 was collected. Deposits in the 1993 and 2000 sales tax funds were $490,381.
Moving on to the January 2011 financial report, Mr. Murphy said property tax revenue had begun to come in from the Sheriff’s Department. The 5 mill maintenance fund, ad valorem tax funds, and the M & O funds were all in the black. The sales tax funds were still showing slight decreases which would probably hold until the end of the year. The General Fund was up $2.8 million year-to-date.
In his health/dental plan update, he said after one month of activity in January 2011 that fund was up $62,958.
A power point update on construction and renovation was the next item on the agenda. Charles Owens provided a commentary of the pictures taken at Choudrant Elementary, the Choudrant softball concession stand, and Choudrant High.
The Board served as a Committee of the Whole, and the following Personnel Committee agenda item was considered after Mary Null, Director of Instruction, Personnel and Special Programs, shared the recommendation from Charles Owens:
Defacto resignation of Barbara Gunn, custodian at Hillcrest Elementary, effective February 28, 2011.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to approve the personnel resignation.
Ms. Null submitted her annual request for permission to send Letters of Intent to employees so that she could begin planning for the 11 - 12 school year.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jones, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to send Letters of Intent.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Bell said that:
He enjoyed spending time with board members at the recent LSBA convention and hoped they enjoyed their sessions. He reminded them that they only received one of the two required ethics hours; the other could be accessed on the ethics web site. Questions should be directed to Becky Gemelli; and
The April 5 board meeting will be held at Simsboro High School rather than the Central Office.
There being no further business to come before the Board, following a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m.
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Danny L. Bell, Secretary Otha L. Anders, President