LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, May 6, 2014 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Lincoln Parish School Board Central 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, Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. Eddie Jones, Mr. George Mack, Jr., and Mr. Joe Mitcham.
Ms. Lynda Henderson was absent.
President Otha Anders called the meeting to order, and the invocation was given by Mr. Barmore. Ms. Abrahm led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Mr. Anders welcomed board members, staff, media, and visitors to the meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to adopt the agenda as amended adding one item of New Business: Change order #3 on additions and renovations to Dubach School.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on April 1, 2014, as printed.
Cathi Boniol, Lincoln ACHIEVE Coordinator, was thrilled to present the State Elementary Student of the Year, Emma Purifoy. She provided background information on the 5th grader from A. E. Phillips and presented her with a small gift in recognition of her selection. Emma thanked the Board and administration and introduced her guests. Otha Anders congratulated Miss Purifoy on behalf of the Board for her many achievements and accomplishments.
During 2013, Louisiana Revised Statute 42:19.1 became law according to Business Manager, George Murphy. It requires that there be a public notice in a public meeting no more than sixty days or less than thirty days before such public meeting in which millage rates are levied. He noted the millages will be levied on July 1, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Parish School Board Central Office, 410 S. Farmerville St., Ruston, Louisiana.
Bids for the addition and renovation project at Cypress Springs were opened on April 29, 2014. Three qualified bidders submitted bids - Gentry Construction, Traxler Construction Company, Inc., and Triad Builders of Ruston, Inc. Triad’s base bid of $1,539,000 was below what was originally estimated, and Danny Bell, Superintendent, recommended that it be accepted.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hunt, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to accept the base bid of $1,539,000 submitted by Triad Builders of Ruston, Inc., and award them as the contractor for the Cypress Springs addition and renovation project.
Three qualified bidders also submitted bids for new bleachers at Choudrant High School. Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services, communicated they were opened on April 15, 2014, and Insight, Inc. of Ruston was determined to have the lowest bid meeting specifications at $73,378.00. He recommended the acceptance of their bid.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board unanimously voted to accept the low bid of $73,378.00 from Insight, Inc. to replace the old bleachers at Choudrant High School with new ones.
Mike Walpole, architect, summarized the six items on change order #4 for the Ruston High/Hoss Garrett Stadium concession and toilet project. They were: steps at the south end of the stadium (add $19,979.82), new concrete surrounds (add $9,148.32), additional sidewalks (add (11,099.38), pipe insulation (add $515.92), 99’ unit price for steel plate & electrical conduit (add $4,356.00), and contingency allowance (subtract $12,000.00).
Approval of the change order would increase the cost of the project by $33,099.44 and the contract time by fifteen days. Superintendent Bell requested that the change order be approved.
Upon a motion by Mr. Mitcham, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board unanimously voted to approve change order #4 for the Ruston High School/Hoss Garrett Stadium concession and toilet project increasing the contract sum by $33,099.44 and the contact time by fifteen days.
A committee chaired by Mary Null, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Programs, and composed of Ricky Edmiston, Lisa Mangum, Tim Nutt, Charles Owens, and Shavonne Price interviewed five qualified applicants for the supervisor of special education position. The top three applicants in scoring order were: Dr. Laureen Mayfield, Ashley Brown, and Dr. Mary Ann Barham. The Interview Committee strongly favored the appointment of Ashley Brown; Danny Bell concurred and shared the recommendation with the Board.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to approve the appointment of Ashley Brown for the position of supervisor of special education effective July 1, 2014.
Another committee chaired by Ms. Null and composed of Lisa Bastion, Charles Hogan, Doris Lewis, Mike Milstead, and Willie Washington interviewed eleven qualified applicants for the position of principal of Simsboro School. The top three applicants in scoring order were: Dr. Byron Miller, Shane Lee, and Mark Spradling. The recommendation was Dr. Byron Miller for the appointment.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to approve the appointment of Dr. Byron Miller for the position of principal of Simsboro School effective July 1, 2014.
The third committee interviewed four qualified applicants interested in being named principal of Cypress Springs Elementary. Again Mary Null was chairman, and this committee consisted of Ricky Durrett, Patrice Hilton, Abigail James, Sonja Walker, and Willie Washington. From the top three scorers of Michelle Thrower, Dr. Jeananne Smith, and Dr. Janice Williams, the Interview Committee unanimously recommended the appointment of Michelle Thrower to fill the vacancy. The superintendent concurred and passed the recommendation on to the Board.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to name Michelle Thrower for the position of principal of Cypress Springs Elementary effective July 1, 2014.
Approval was requested by Danny Bell for a change order for the Dubach School project. Mike Walpole explained their reasoning and said the following changes were included in the change order: replace floor tiles, ceiling & additional painting (add $62,597.86) and contingency allowance (deduct $5,000.00). Those changes would add $57,597.86 to the cost, but would not add any days to the contract time. Mr. Bell agreed with Mr. Walpole and requested the Board’s endorsement of the change order to bring the finishes in the existing building up to the same level as the new classrooms.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hunt, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to approve change order #3 for the Dubach School project resulting in an added cost of $57,597.86 for the Lincoln Parish School Board.
In her Personnel Report, Mary Null voiced the following:
1. Retirement of the following effective May 24, 2014, unless otherwise noted:
Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services at the Central Office, effective August 31, 2014;
Annette Warren, auxiliary services secretary at the Central Office, effective December 20, 2014;
Tanya Carney, teacher at Dubach School, effective May 28, 2014;
Yolanda Daniel, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary;
Pam Kelley, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary, effective May 31, 2014;
Cynthia McMurry, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary;
Charlie Meeds, itinerant gifted art teacher;
Shelli Quayhagen, science teacher at Ruston Junior High;
Kathy Steed, P.E./coach at Ruston Junior High;
Vernesta Adams, paraprofessional at Cypress Spring Elementary, effective August 14, 2014; and
Ann Coleman, secretary at special education/YRC, effective June 6, 2014.
2. Resignation, effective May 24, 2014, of the following:
Amy Green, teacher at Glen View Elementary;
Rabia Hastey, teacher at Glen View Elementary;
Samantha Lantrip, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary;
Amanda Johnson, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary;
Ashley Cripps, teacher at Ruston Elementary;
Monica Olsen, speech/debate teacher at Ruston High;
Blair Kelley, social studies teacher at Ruston High; and
Lori Waits, elementary teacher at Simsboro School.
3. Points of Reference/Transfer of the following:
David Crowe, from Ruston High School to Auxiliary Services Coordinator effective July 1, 2014, replacing Charles Owens who is retiring;
Christine Hanna, from Glen View Elementary to payroll assistant at the Central Office effective July 1, 2014, replacing Charlotte Davison who retired;
Natasha Ellis, from Ruston Elementary to auxiliary services secretary at the Central Office effective January 4, 2015, replacing Annette Warren who is retiring;
Joyce Crowe, from the Central Office to special education/YRC secretary at Lincoln Center effective July 1, 2014; and
Lillie Williams-Hearn, from Simsboro High to assistant principal at Ruston High effective July 14, 2014, replacing David Crowe who is transferring.
4. Employment of Shane Lee, assistant principal at Simsboro School effective July 14, 2014, replacing Lillie Hearn who is transferring.
5. Retirement of the following:
Betty Jenkins, custodian at I. A. Lewis effective May 1, 2014; and
Eric Goree, custodian at Ruston Junior High, effective May 31, 2014.
6. Resignation of Curtis Mack, custodian at I. A. Lewis, effective April 30, 2014.
7. Employment of the following transportation employees effective August 15, 2014:
Keith Moore, bus driver in the Ruston district replacing Aaron Austin who resigned; and
Bobby Kranz, bus driver in the Ruston district replacing Al Shaw who resigned.
8. Retirement of the following school food service employees effective July 31, 2014:
Julia Norman, manager at Glen View Elementary; and
Margie Pike, technician at Glen View Elementary.
A construction update was provided by Mike Walpole. He showed pictures and noted that the RHS/James Field and Hoss Garrett artificial turf project was progressing, was on schedule, and should be completed by the end of June. He had finished preliminary plans for the Glen View project that were approved by the principal and is due to bid on August 19. So far on his schedule of Ruston School District #1 bond issue milestones, all of the dates have been hit. He narrated photos of the Dubach School endeavor and said even with the just-approved change order, they should be wrapping up by the first week of August 2014. The RHS/Hoss Garrett Stadium toilet and concession venture is progressing smoothly as shown in pictures. At this point, there have been no major problems on any of the jobs, and all are on schedule. Mr. Walpole was also pleased to note that the bond issue projects are all under budget at this time.
Sales taxes collected for the period ending April 30, 2014, totaled $1,300,019, George Murphy reported. That was a 5.92% decrease from the same month last year. Because he had talked with Jerry Moore, Administrator with the Lincoln Parish Sales & Use Tax Commission, he explained that the completion of the two plants being refurbished in Simsboro and Dubach were the cause of the drop. Year-to-date the collections were still doing well and up 6.44%. Recoveries through audits year-to-date were $233,395 which was up 80% compared to the same time last year. For the month, $590,918 was collected in the ‘67 and ‘79 fund, and $709,100 was collected in the ‘93 and ‘00 fund.
Moving on to the financial statement for March 2014, Mr. Murphy called attention to a couple of funds. The General Fund was down from $11.9 million at this time last year to a current balance of $10.6 million. The 5 Mill Maintenance Fund had a $457,000 balance and would probably needs some transfers before the end of the year as had happened last year. The sales tax funds were doing well as already reported and had higher balances than at this time last year. The 93 Ad Valorem Tax Fund had a $4.7 million balance because $1.5 million was moved in April for the Choudrant track. He said every one of the districts in Lincoln Parish have benefitted from the use of funds from the General Fund to do projects. Some he mentioned were the Simsboro track project, the work currently going on at Dubach School, the Ruston High/Hoss Garrett Stadium project, and the upcoming Choudrant track. These were possible because of the superintendent and Board watching the money and seeing where and when those jobs could be done. The Total Fund Balance was $40.7 million which was down $1.5 million from last year, but the school system was still in good financial shape he opined.
In his Health Care Fund report, George Murphy, said a loss of $56,647 was experienced for the month ending March 2014. Year-to-date that fund was up $1.1 million for the first three months. He attributed the Health Care Fund’s financial condition to a big stop loss payment of $479,000.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Bell said:
1. A Celebration of Champions recognizing many of the students and faculty who have achieved at the state and/or national levels is coming up on May 12 at 5:00 p.m. at the Ruston Civic Center. He said he always appreciates board members’ attendance at that event.
2. Fifth grade graduation ceremonies have been scheduled on May 15 for Cypress Springs and Ruston Elementary at the Bridge Community Church, a partner with the school system.
3. At 5:30 p.m. on June 3 in the lobby of the Central Office, a Retirement Reception will be held. Immediately following the reception, the retirees will be recognized at the Regular Session of the Lincoln Parish School Board. All in attendance were invited to attend the reception.
4. He appreciates all of the work by the teachers, coaches and sponsors who with all of the groups of young people including athletics, FFA, FBLA, and numerous others.
There being no further business, upon a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m.
______________________________ _______________________________
Danny L. Bell, Secretary Otha L. Anders, President