LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

Ruston, Louisiana

REGULAR SESSION

Tuesday, August 6, 2013     6:00 p.m.

The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Parish School Board Office, 410 South Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana.  Members present were Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. Otha Anders (left the meeting early), Mr. Michael Barmore, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Mattie Harrison, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. Eddie Jones, Mr. George Mack, Jr., and Mr. Joe Mitcham.

Mr. Trott Hunt was absent.

Prior to the meeting, a plaque dedication ceremony was held in memory and recognition of George Mack, Sr.’s almost 40 years of service on the Lincoln Parish School Board.  The plaque, which had been inset into a brick column by the flag pole in front of the Central Office, was unveiled and read.

President Anders called the meeting to order, and Mr. Mitcham gave the invocation.  Ms. Henderson led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, and Mr. Anders welcomed guests to the meeting.

Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to adopt the agenda as amended adding one item of New Business:  Permission to sell property in Hico.

Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on July 2, 2013, as submitted.

            As the parish’s policy for promotion and retention of students, the Pupil Progression Plan (PPP), is based on Bulletin 1566, Bulletin 741, and Act 750 (R.S. 17:24.4) of the Louisiana State Legislature.  Paula Pardue, Secondary Academic Coordinator, asked that revisions to the 2013-14 PPP be approved in order to be in full compliance with all state regulations.  She indicated that an entire copy of the PPP was placed in board packets.

            Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to approve the revised Lincoln Parish Pupil Progression Plan.

Modifications to the original plan will reduce the contract amount by $234.00 for the Simsboro track project.  Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services, summarized Change Order No. 1.  He said it reduced the size of the 25’ light pole foundations to minimize how far it extends above the ground; added grease trap, mop sink, and associated piping per DHH requirements; and allowed MBCI Lok Seam roofing.  There was no change in the contract time as a result of the change, and the expected completion date remained December 14, 2013.  Mr. Owens recommended approval of the change order. 

Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to approve Change Order No. 1 reducing the contract price by $234.00 for the Simsboro High School track project.

Money from the sale of the hospital is used for health care of the residents of Lincoln Parish, informed former school nurse and board member, Jo Tatum.  She said it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the Lincoln Parish School Board’s representative for the past six years on the Lincoln Health Foundation, which plans and oversees the spending.  As she was to rotate off after their September meeting, she had requested permission to share with the Board ways the Foundation had benefitted the school children in the parish.  She said grants in the following amounts had been awarded by the Lincoln Health Foundation to the Lincoln Parish School Board to be used in various health-related ways:

                                    2008                             $ 84,000;

                                    2009                             $196,611;

                                    2010                             $299,934

                                    2011                             $ 67,392;

                                    2012                             $281,684; and

                                    To date in 2013 $384,896.

A grand total of $1,314,517 had been provided for very worthwhile health programs for the school children in Lincoln Parish.  Ms. Tatum expressed her appreciation to Kay Bradford, Grant Writer, for her excellent work obtaining grants and to the Board for the wonderful opportunity to serve the community in this way.

            Both Superintendent Danny Bell and Mr. Anders communicated their appreciation to Jo Tatum for the excellent job she did representing the board and school district and more importantly the children in Lincoln Parish.  She brought a remarkable enthusiasm and perspective to the Foundation.

Multiple personnel changes were verbalized by Mary Null, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Programs.  They were:

1.     Retirement of the following:

Sally Grigsby, teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary, effective July 17, 2013; and

Deborah Lary, paraprofessional at Hillcrest Elementary, effective October 1, 2013.

2.     Resignation of the following:

Gail VanDenLangenberg, teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary, effective July 9, 2013;

Jessica Sims, teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary, effective July 24, 2013;

Phaedra Burks, special education teacher at Glen View Elementary, effective July 10, 2013;

Bonnie Williams, teacher at Glen View Elementary, effective July 22, 2013;

Bess DeCuir, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary, effective July 1, 2013;

LeJoyce Adams, special education teacher at Hillcrest Elementary, effective July 1, 2013;

Nichole Brown, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary, effective July 22, 2013;

Samantha Till, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary, effective July 24, 2013;

Donna Thomas, literacy coach at Glen View Elementary and Hillcrest Elementary, effective July 23, 2013;

Shelly Roark-Gilcrease, special education at I. A. Lewis, effective July 10, 2013;

Markia Daigs, pre-k teacher at Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center, effective July 22, 2013;

Jill Allen, teacher at Ruston Elementary, effective July 2, 2013;

Heidi DeCou, music teacher at Ruston High, effective July 17, 2013;

Wendell Crowe, P.E./coach at Ruston High, effective July 22, 2013; and

Stephen Brown, physical education teacher at Ruston Junior High, effective July 22, 2013.

3.     Medical sabbatical request from Terri Peters, business teacher at Ruston High, effective August 12, 2013, and through May 23, 2014.

4.     Points of Reference/Transfers of the following effective August 12, 2013, unless noted otherwise:

Kristen Telford, from teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary to coordinating teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary, effective August 5, 2013;

Laurie Kaffka, from Dubach School to teacher at Glen View Elementary, because of kindergarten numbers;

Shunda Lloyd, from Ruston Elementary to special education teacher at I. A. Lewis, replacing Shelly Roark-Gilcrease who resigned;

Renee Laird, special education teacher at Ruston Elementary, replacing Shunda Lloyd who transferred;

Rickey Burton, Jr., from Dubach High to special education teacher at Simsboro School, because of reconfigured grades at Dubach;

Ashley Brown, from Choudrant High to IEP/ESY Facilitator at Special Education effective July 29, 2013, replacing Pam Willis who was retiring;

Tyler Price, from Cypress Springs Elementary to special education teacher at Youth Rescue Center, replacing Janet Burse who transferred;

Brenda Bolton, from Hico Elementary to custodian at Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center effective August 5, 2013, because of the closure of Hico; and

Marcus Richard, from Hico Elementary to custodian at Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center effective July 1, 2013, because of the closure of Hico.

5.     Resignation of Sheila Newton, custodian at Choudrant Elementary, effective June 3, 2013.

6.     Employment of Charles Parker in the maintenance department at the Central Office effective July 17, 2013, replacing Doris Roberson who retired and Eric Atkins who resigned.

7.     Employment of the following effective August 12, 2013, unless otherwise noted:

Rabia Hastey, teacher at Glen View Elementary, replacing Bonnie Williams who resigned;

Janna Crowe, math teacher at I. A. Lewis, because of double-blocked math;

Candace Culpepper, science teacher at I. A. Lewis, replacing Stacy Campbell who transferred;

Jordan Cheatham, pre-k teacher at Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center, replacing Markia Daigs who resigned;

Lisa Harris, teacher at Ruston Elementary, replacing Jill Allen who resigned;

Emily Reser, teacher at Ruston Elementary, replacing Ashley Cripps who was granted a leave without pay;

Karen Dowling, teacher at Ruston Elementary, replacing Rhonda Collins who resigned;

Sandra Simmons, special education teacher at Ruston Elementary, replacing Angel Meyers who resigned;

Maryanne Smith, teacher at Ruston Elementary, replacing Heather Roussell who transferred;

Linda Brown, ELA teacher at Ruston High, replacing Julie Stephenson who transferred to ELA strategist;

Stephanie Wardach, ELA teacher at Ruston High, replacing Elizabeth Yenser who resigned;

Kai Burrell, PE/coach at Ruston High effective July 29, 2013, replacing David Aguilar who resigned;

Charity Patricola, science teacher at Ruston High, replacing Sarah Wages who resigned;

Brian Thomas, math teacher at Ruston High, replacing Courtney Martin who transferred;

Adrian Hester, PE/coach at Ruston Junior High effective July 29, 2013, replacing Stephen Brown who resigned; and

William Hogan, social studies teacher at Simsboro School, replacing Steven Erhard who transferred.

            School data and leadership plan was the next report on the agenda.  Danny Bell noted he was revising the original July 2008 Principal Salary Performance Increment plan to reward principals and schools leaders because of changes in the state’s accountability program.  An additional salary performance increment may be awarded following the receipt of official accountability results from the Louisiana Department of Education.  The stipend/increment would be paid in addition to any stipend/increment previously received by the school administrator unless the maximum cap had been achieved.  It would be an annual one-time payment unless achieved two years in a row; at that point it would become a permanent increment to the principal’s salary.  School growth of 5 SPS within the “A or B” OR “C to B” categories would yield a $2,000 stipend; growth of 10 SPS within the “A or B” OR “C to B” categories would yield a $4,000 stipend.  Also, the designation of a “Top Gains” school would yield a stipend of $1,000.  Annual Yearly Performance (AYP) could be a factor in the schools getting that designation, he acknowledged.  Achieving any one or combination of these designations would result in a permanent increment following two consecutive years of such achievement.  The increment paid would be an averaging of two consecutive years’ SPS and would become part of the school leader’s annual salary.  He did say that a decrease in the SPS in any given year might impact the ability to earn an increment unless the year following the decrease the growth exceeded the last highest SPS by 5 points in the “A or B” categories only.  A performance increment cap of $15,000 or $20,000 would be minimally based on six years of achieving performance at the highest level within Louisiana’s accountability guidelines.  In closing, he communicated at no time would a school principal be awarded a permanent increment when the SPS was recovering from a numeric SPS lower than a previous SPS that the school earned under that principal’s leadership.  Mr. Bell is committed to moving the district forward and helping the children to succeed.

            George Murphy, Business Manager, delivered the sales tax collection report for the period ending July 31, 2013.  Sales tax collections for the first month of the 13-14 fiscal year were $1,236,499 which was up 4.4% compared to the same month last year.  Recoveries through audits were $2,211 which was down over 82% from last year. 

            In the health care fund, there was a loss of $302,764 for the month ending June 30, 2013, according to Mr. Murphy.  Year-to-date through six months, the fund was down $212,559.

The State Legislative Auditor’s Office requires all Louisiana governmental units to complete a System’s Survey & Compliance Questionnaire and provide it to the independent auditors at the beginning of the financial and compliance audit, George Murphy reported to the Board.  He requested approval of the questionnaire with one change from George Mack, Sr., on the list of board members to George Mack, Jr.

            Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to approve the System’s Survey & Compliance Questionnaire for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, as corrected.

            Mr. Murphy called attention to the revised budget for 12-13 in order to adjust the original budget to the actual amounts.  The year was begun with a $1,230,954 deficit; however, the final figure turned out to be $701,570.  The slight improvement was due to higher than expected sales tax revenues, and the voucher school didn’t cost as much as they had budgeted. 

            Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to accept the revised budget for the 12-13 fiscal year.

            Board members were reminded by George Murphy that each fall schools are allocated monies from the 1979 sales tax fund for library supplement ($2.50), classroom supplies ($3.75), office supplies and equipment repair/purchase ($4.00), student services ($3.75), and debate and speech ($2.00).  These funds are distributed on a per pupil basis and sent directly to the schools to be disbursed by the principal.  He recommended sending the per pupil allotments shown above which are the same amounts as last year.  Also to be included in the checks are the annual $120 per kindergarten teacher and monies for those schools that have a band program. If approved the total amount to be disbursed to the schools would be approximately $112,990. 

            Upon a motion by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to approve the fall allocations of school instructional supply money as outlined on the schedule disseminated by Mr. Murphy.

            The superintendent was made aware of Hico Baptist Church’s interest in purchasing .411 acre of land between the recently closed Hico Elementary School and them.  The Board had originally purchased the land from the church for $1,000.  Since the land is of no further use to the school system, Superintendent Bell ordered an appraisal and had the Assistant District Attorney, Andy Shealy, look over the paperwork on the plat.  He proposed that the Board grant permission to advertise for bids to purchase the property with a minimum bid of the appraised price plus the cost of the appraisal.

            Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission, pending an appraisal, to advertise for bids to purchase .411 acre of property in Hico with a minimum bid of the appraised price plus the cost of the appraisal.

            At this point in the meeting, Mr. Anders left.

In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Bell:

1.     Expressed his appreciation to the staff and school personnel as they prepare for the imminent start of school next week.  Staff development has been ongoing for several weeks and will continue next week until the children arrive on Friday morning.  The Back-to-School meeting at Ruston High School is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14, at 8:30 a.m.  He invited members to attend. 

2.     Communicated that the State Superintendent of Education was in Lincoln Parish last week and again this week.  This week’s trip was to give recognition to Ruston High School and what they have accomplished with their agriculture program.  Various legislators and BESE members joined him.  Mr. Bell felt the FFA officers and former students did a great job of talking about what the agriculture program meant to them personally.  The purpose of the visit was to share with John White, BESE, and the legislators the importance of Ag programs.  However, scheduling of various electives does present a problem.  Diploma changes are also being discussed.

            Hearing no comments from board members, upon a motion by Ms. Best the meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m.

_____________________________                                 ______________________________

Danny L. Bell, Secretary                                                            Otha L. Anders, President