LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, November 5, 2013 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, November 5, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Parish School Board, 410 South Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. Otha Anders, Mr. Michael Barmore, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Mattie Harrison, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. Eddie Jones, Mr. George Mack, Jr., and Mr. Joe Mitcham.
Mr. Curtis Dowling was absent.
President Anders called the meeting to order. The invocation was given by Mr. Barmore, and Ms. Henderson led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mr. Anders welcomed board members, staff, members of the media, and special guests.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Ms. Abrahm, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Sessions held on October 1, 2013, and October 16, 2013.
Accountability Coordinator Donna Doss was elated to recognize three dynamic school leaders whose schools scored well and made them eligible to receive monetary performance awards. She presented a check to Lisa Bastion, principal of Choudrant High School, who was a top gain school. She maintained an “A” letter grade for her 7th-12th grade high school and was one of only two high schools in North Louisiana to do so. Next to be recognized was Choudrant Elementary principal, Charles Hogan, who also had a top gain school and was only .4 points from an “A.” Finally she rewarded Ricky Durrett, principal of Simsboro School, who also had a top gain school and grew from a “C” to a “B” with a record growth of 9.7 overall points.
As part of the process when a charter school application is received, Paula Pardue, Human Resource Coordinator, said a Third Party Administrator had been hired in accordance with state law. New Millennium Education was the Louisiana-based consulting firm the administration selected and the CEO, Kimberly Williams, was prepared to share their report.
Ms. Williams reiterated that her third party company was hired to review the charter school application from Success Academy. It would be the Board’s responsibility to receive their recommendation and then decide whether to accept or reject the same. She called attention to a brief overview of the application. Ms. Williams said the application was for a 7th - 12th grade charter school to be located somewhere in Lincoln Parish that would grow about 30 students per year for five years. After a thorough review of the application by three of Millennium’s staff members and herself, she shared the New Millennium Education’s recommendation to deny the application for two very specific reasons:
1. The minimum eligibility requirements set forth by the state department were not met. These consisted of non-profit status or at least having filed for that, signed statements of five assurances, and three certified Louisiana teachers involved in the application process; and
2. The applicant was not ready to open a charter school in Lincoln Parish.
Regarding the eligibility requirements, the applicant met none of the requirements. She was given the opportunity to resolve the failure to meet the eligibility requirements and did not do so. Although failure to submit the documents makes the application ineligible, her company completed a review of the application for its content as well.
She opined the applicant was not ready to open the charter school for the following reasons:
1. No leadership identified nor had the applicant shown any evidence of a concrete means of selecting a leader;
2. They didn’t clearly articulate a theory of change or the core drivers of the proposed school or a set of academic performance expectations for the school;
3. Applicant does not show evidence of which curriculum will be utilized, how the school will prepare for Core Curriculum State Standards, what professional development teachers will undergo, nor how student will be assessed on an ongoing basis;
4. Budget does not show evidence of “true figures.” Applicant startup revenue is based 100% upon the receipt of unidentified and unapplied for grants from the state; applicant’s anticipated revenue is substantially higher than the revenue currently provided; budget does not demonstrate funding for a school facility. In addition, many figures are missing from the budget nor are there explanations/assumptions; and
5. Applicant’s discipline, enrollment and special education plan are all based on California statutory requirements.
Ms. Williams repeated that New Millennium Education recommended the denial of the charter school application. She also indicated that she spoke with the applicant twice and invited her to attend the board meeting, but she stated that she was in a doctoral program in California and would not attend.
Upon a motion by Mr. Mitcham, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to accept the report of the third party reviewer and deny the application for a charter school from Success Academy for failure to meet the minimum eligibility requirements of the Louisiana Department of Education and for the five other reasons indicated above.
Nine bids were opened on October 22, 2013, for the construction of an addition and renovation at Dubach High School. They ranged from a high base bid of $1,740,000 with an additive alternate of $38,000 submitted by Carter Construction, Inc. to a low base bid of $1,467,000 with an additive alternate of $27,614 from Mann Construction, Inc. He recommended accepting the bid and alternate from Mann.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hunt, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board voted 10 to 1 to accept the low base bid of $1,467,000 with an additive alternate of $27,614 submitted by Mann’s Construction, Inc. for a total of $1,494,614. The lone dissenting vote came from Mr. Hancock.
Permission was given at the August 6 board meeting to sell a .411 acre tract of land between what was formerly Hico Elementary School and Hico Baptist Church according to George Murphy, Business Manager. A minimum purchase price was to include the appraised price of $4,700.00 and the cost of the appraisal, $1,000. One bid was received and opened on October 30. Mr. Murphy recommended the acceptance of the solitary bid of $6,100.00 from Hico Baptist Church.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted to accept the lowest and only bid of $6,100.00 from Hico Baptist Church to purchase the .411 acre tract of land in Hico between what was formerly Hico Elementary School and Hico Baptist Church and to authorize the president to sign the applicable documents on behalf of the board.
Donna Doss was pleased to share information on School Performance Scores and 2013 letter grades. It was a year of change, and the administration was celebrating that no school earned a letter grade of “D” or “F.” One school earned an “A” and several of the others improved. She commended the principals, teachers, parents, and students because this was a prideful year. Because it was a year of change, Ms. Doss explained how the scores were earned and went over the schools’ 2013 letter grades and annual SPS on the new system. They were:
School Letter Grade Annual SPS
Choudrant Elementary B 99.6
Choudrant High A 104.3
Cypress Springs Elementary C 72.5
Dubach High C 75.6
Glen View Elementary C 72.5
Hillcrest Elementary C 76.1
I A Lewis C 83.9
Ruston Elementary C 76.1
Ruston High B 96.0
Ruston Junior High B 92.3
Simsboro High B 93.0
She communicated that Ruston Junior High went from a “C” to a “B”, Choudrant Elementary was only .4 point from an “A” and Ruston High would also have been an “A” school if they had stayed with the old formula. Ms. Doss was excited to say that the annual School Performance Scores earned the school system a District Performance Score (DPS) of 94.2 which retained the district’s “B” letter grade. Last year the system had a 110.4 score which would have increased to 111.7 this year using the old formula. In closing she said the school system had excellent graduation rates as well. Lincoln Parish was well above the 2014 state goal of 80% and the state’s average graduation rate of 65%.
Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Programs, Mary Null, continued with a personnel report. She communicated the:
1. Retirement of:
Janet Allen, teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary, effective October 3, 2013; and
Harold “Buck” Carlisle, working with the truancy program at the truancy office effective October 25, 2013.
2. Resignation of Alicia Eppinette, ELA teacher at Ruston Junior High effective October 23, 2013.
3. Recommendation of Kathryn Fitch, librarian at Hillcrest Elementary effective November 4, 2013, replacing Christine Gatlin who transferred.
4. Points of Reference/Transfers of:
Doris Lewis, from Cypress Springs to truancy coordinator at the truancy office effective October 26, 2013, replacing Harold “Buck” Carlisle;
Michelle Thrower, from Ruston Elementary to Interim Principal at Cypress Springs effective October 28, 2013, replacing Doris Lewis who transferred; and
Jane Watson, from RTI coach to Interim Curriculum Strategist at Ruston Elementary effective October 28, 2013, replacing Michelle Thrower who transferred.
5. Employment in the School Food Service department of:
Betty Albritton, technician at Simsboro School effective October 21, 2013, replacing Sherry Hudson who retired;
Lori Blair, technician at Hillcrest Elementary effective October 21, 2013, replacing Tina Dowling who transferred;
Martha Gipson, technician at I. A. Lewis effective October 21, 2013, replacing Angela Wesley who transferred; and
Dawn Willis, clerk/technician at I. A. Lewis effective October 21, 2013, replacing Tameka Patton who transferred.
6. Retirement of Andy Gibson, bus driver in the Choudrant area effective November 2, 2013.
7. Employment of Erin McDonald as bus driver in the Choudrant area effective November 4, 2013, replacing Andy Gibson who retired.
Sales tax collections for the month ending October 31, 2013, were $1,241,256 which was down 3.83% compared to the same month last year and 14.04% year-to-date, according to George Murphy. For the month, $13,839 was recovered by audits which was down 44% compared to the same month last year and 36% year-to-date. In the 1967 and 1979 sales tax fund, $564,208 was collected, and $677,048 was added to the 1993 and 2000 funds. He said the primary reasons for the 14% increase year-to-date were oil and gas extractions, electric, gas and sanitary services, and automotive dealers and service stations.
Moving on to the September 2013 financial update, Mr. Murphy said it was very similar to last month’s and September 2012. The system has a very healthy fund balance of $35,834,830. The only funds out of line with budget projections are the sales tax funds. They are doing better than expected; a 3% increase was budgeted, and there is actually a 4% increase.
In the self-insured health care fund, George Murphy reminded board members that last November a wellness plan initiative began with the assistance of David Charpentier and Tami Rolen-Tharp. They were present at the meeting to discuss the results of that and plans for the future.
Mr. Charpentier, Insurance Consultant with Brown & Brown, explained that the implementation of the wellness plan was not without some bumps but the process was being perfected. He believes it has been a tremendous success. The next step will be rolled out in the coming year will be for employees to fill out health risk assessments on line. That will help gauge their health and give them information to help with any issues that are discovered during the process. Possibly in 2015 a differential in costs to the employees for coverage based upon participation in wellness programs will be implemented. He believes that is the last best tool available in the health insurance industry. “We have to help people stay healthy,” he communicated, “or costs rise tremendously.” He shared with the administration that the overwhelming majority of claims for chronic illnesses for older people were from individuals who didn’t take care of themselves when they were younger. An earlier intervention and catching conditions and treating them sooner will be advantageous as opposed to chronic problems later that are more costly.
Ms. Thorp, Account Manager with BCBS, was pleased to share the great news that the wellness program giving members $500 to spend per year generated 2,252 claims from covered individuals; immunizations were received by 819. Pathology office visits equaled 133, and 302 members had physical exams which totaled with the BCBS allowable approximately $125,000. Although that figure seemed high, she noted that amount is basically equivalent to one serious illness in today’s environment. She was very pleased because in the testing and diagnostic phases, employees were found with diabetes, heart disease, heart murmurs and other conditions. People are being helped and informed regarding their own illnesses which allows them to address their wellness. She believes it is a remarkable start that has more than paid for itself, and it was less than one-half of the projected cost. The second phase in the wellness program will target a more specific area. A private health assessment will be unveiled in January that will give valuable aggregate data. A Power Point presentation will be posted online to teach the employees of the Lincoln Parish School Board how to access the on-line health assessment. It will build a base line, and specific areas can be targeted to get the employees healthier. She is excited about it and expressed her pleasure in working with the school system.
In a construction update, Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services, showed and narrated pictures of the Simsboro track project that is progressing well.
Ron Riley, Engineer with the Riley, Co., communicated that the project was 55% complete from a financial standpoint, but there were numerous items almost finished that hadn’t been billed. Unless something unusual happens, the contractor feels confident that the project will be completed by the end of December 2013.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Bell:
1. Said the Louisiana School Boards Association’s 2014 convention information had just been received. As it was scheduled earlier than usual, he placed that information in packets.
After brief comments and a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Danny L. Bell, Secretary Otha L. Anders, President