LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, August 5, 2014 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, August 5, 2014, 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, Mr. Michael Barmore, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Mattie Harrison, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. George Mack, Jr., and Mr. Joe Mitcham.
Mr. Eddie Jones was absent.
President Anders called the meeting to order, and Mr. Barmore gave the invocation. Ms. Harrison led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, and Mr. Anders welcomed guests to the meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on July 1, 2014, as submitted.
Cathi Cox-Boniol, Lincoln ACHIEVE Coordinator, was pleased to announce that the State Elementary Teacher of the Year was from Lincoln Parish. She recognized Ruston Elementary School’s Tammy Schales for her unbelievable hard work and remarkable commitment to the students in her 4th grade classroom. Ms. Boniol gave background information on Ms. Schales and the Teacher of the Year competition. She presented her with a plaque and a $500 check from Lincoln ACHIEVE. Ms. Schales thanked the Board, spoke briefly, and introduced her guests.
Mr. Anders voiced congratulations to Ms. Schales and applauded her hard work, dedication, compelling desire to excel, and achievement.
A Building and Grounds Committee was held at 5:15 prior to the 6:00 start of the Regular Session, and Chairman, Trott Hunt, summarized what had occurred during that meeting. The Choudrant High School track project was moving along, should be ready to be bid at the September meeting, and will have a completion date in the spring. Mr. Walpole undated them on several projects on which he was working. The Ruston District Bond construction projects were all on schedule. Practice was held on the newly-installed turf at the Ruston High School stadium today, and the lights were approved last week as well. Although the stadium remodel was not part of the bond issue, that work was also substantially complete and may be inspected on Friday. The addition and renovation inside of Dubach School was going well. Quite a bit of work was already happening at Cypress Springs. Change orders on several of the projects were listed on the latter section of the agenda under New Business. All in all it was an excellent report, good progress was being made, and we are moving into the next phase of the project work.
Graduation rates are based on a cohort report of how many students that began in the 9th grade and at the end of a 4 year period received some type of diploma according to Donna Doss, Accountability Coordinator. She was pleased to verbalize that Lincoln Parish schools had the following for their 2013 graduation rates: Choudrant High School - 100%, Dubach High School - 95.5%, Ruston High School - 85.5%, and Simsboro High School - 90.3%. Those garnered Lincoln Parish a District Performance Score of 84.5% which was a growth of 4.6 points. The district average was lower than expected because the Lincoln Parish Career Academy’s 0% cohort was included in the equation for the last time; however the 84.5% still puts Lincoln Parish way above the state average. She said the high schools are doing everything they can to counsel and mentor the students and encourage them to stay involved, on task, and in school.
Superintendent Danny Bell reminded the Board that the state had set a target graduation rate for 2014 of 80%. He also noted that the state graduation rate for 2013 was 73.5%. Lincoln was well ahead of the state average with an 84.5% and was one of the top 10 districts in the State of Louisiana with graduation rates. Mr. Bell also expressed his pride in the remarkable job the high schools are doing with their focus on graduation rates.
Ms. Doss also presented the official report on 2013 ACT results, the first year that all students were tested and not just the college bound. Choudrant High School had an ACT composite of a 20.5. Dubach High School had an 18.1. Ruston High School had a 20.1, and Simsboro High had a 17.0. After testing 373 students, Lincoln Parish had an overall composite of 19.5. She distributed a report that was included with the scores and gave the following breakdown of students that graduate from Lincoln Parish who were ready for college coursework: 62% College English Composition as opposed to 60% in the state, 32% algebra and 29% for the state, 35% social studies and 33% for the state, 23% college biology and 25% for the state, and meeting all 4 was 18% for the parish and 16% for the state. There was a slight drop overall in all of the schools’ scores as was anticipated. She said a lot of work had been done, and she hopes to see some positive changes in improved ACT scores.
Multiple personnel changes were shared by Mary Null, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Programs. They were:
1. Retirement of Dawna Keys, counselor at Ruston High, effective June 27, 2014.
2. Resignation of the following:
Debbie Worley, secretary/bookkeeper at Cypress Springs, effective July 31, 2014;
Sterling Jackson, teacher at Glen View, effective July 8, 2014;
Martina Penn, teacher at Hillcrest, effective July 28, 2014;
Monica Moore-Hebert, ELA teacher at I. A. Lewis, effective July 22, 2014;
Defacto resignation of Michelle Blount, science teacher at I. A. Lewis, effective July 7, 2014;
Chad Towns, agriscience teacher at Ruston Junior High, effective July 25, 2014;
Patricia Taylor, teacher at Simsboro Elementary, effective July 17, 2014;
Defacto resignation of Aleta Overby, science teacher at Simsboro High, effective May 24, 2014;
William Cantrell, agriscience teacher at Simsboro High, effective August 8, 2014;
Kevin Huff, business teacher at Simsboro High, effective July 22, 2014;
Abby Odenbaugh, math teacher at Simsboro High, effective May 24, 2014;
Chris Campbell, science teacher at Simsboro High, effective July 24, 2014;
3. Points of Reference/Transfers of the following effective August 11, 2014, unless noted otherwise:
Beth Napper, transferring from Simsboro High to math at I. A. Lewis replacing Janna Crowe who transferred;
Jan Norwood, transferring from Ruston Junior High to special education at Ruston High because of numbers;
Tommy Freeman, transferring from Ruston High to agriscience at Ruston Junior High effective July 1, 2014, replacing Chad Towns who resigned;
Ricky Burton, Jr., transferring from Simsboro High to special education at Ruston High because of numbers; and
Janna Crowe, transferring from I. A. Lewis to math at Simsboro High replacing Beth Napper who transferred.
4. Employment of the following effective August 11, 2014, unless otherwise noted:
Angelica Hale, Spanish teacher at Choudrant High, replacing Amber O’Neal who resigned;
Rachel Carson, teacher at Cypress Springs, replacing Misty Kudlas who transferred;
Tina Goff, special education teacher at Cypress Springs, replacing Heather Causey who transferred;
Jessica Jordan, teacher at Glen View, replacing Sterling Jackson who resigned;
Tasha Smith, special education teacher at Glen View, replacing Suzanne Tyler who resigned;
Jeanette Roberson, teacher at Hillcrest, replacing Martina Penn who resigned;
Jessica Jones, special education teacher at Howard School, replacing Stephanie Campbell who resigned;
Morgan Patton, science teacher at I. A. Lewis, replacing Holly Payton who transferred;
Lydia Smith, science teacher at Ruston High, replacing Jill Cheek who resigned;
Justin Barron, special education teacher at Ruston High due to student numbers;
Kayla McGuire, family and consumer science teacher at Ruston High, replacing Darlene Johnson who retired;
Toby White, computer proctor at Ruston High, in a new position effective August 14, 2014;
Jamie McCullin, agriscience at Ruston High effective August 1, 2014, replacing Tommy Freeman who transferred;
Amanda Young, physical education teacher at Ruston Junior High, replacing Timanee Thomas who resigned;
Mallory Hilton, ELA teacher at Ruston Junior High, replacing Jamie Nichols who transferred;
Kelly Hammond, teacher at Simsboro Elementary, replacing Mary Wilks-Kilgore who promoted to curriculum strategist;
Melissa Rutherford, special education teacher at Simsboro, replacing Carolyn Jones who transferred;
Melanie Craft, teacher at Simsboro Elementary, replacing Patricia Taylor who resigned;
Carol Ward, math teacher at Simsboro High, replacing Abby Odenbaugh who resigned;
Christina Thompson, science teacher at Simsboro High, replacing Jamie Gressett who transferred;
Nolan Young, science teacher at Ruston High, replacing Aleta Overby who resigned;
Dana Boockoff, special education teacher at Simsboro High, replacing Ricky Burton, Jr., who transferred; and
Benjamin Quinnelly, ACT preparation teacher at Simsboro High, in a new position.
5. Resignation of Barbara Thomas, bus driver in the Ruston area, effective July 28, 2014.
6. Employment of Judy Moore, bus driver in the Ruston area effective August 15, 2014, replacing Barbara Thomas who resigned.
7. Points of Reference/Transfers of the following school food service employees effective August 1, 2014:
Cindy Finley, transferring from Ruston High to manager at Glen View, replacing Julia Norman who retired;
Lisa Carter, transferring from Simsboro to manager at Ruston High, replacing Cindy Finley who transferred; and
Tina Dowing, transferring from clerk at Simsboro to manager at Simsboro, replacing Lisa Carter who transferred.
8. Employment the following school food service employees effective August 1, 2014:
Phyllis Mardis, technician at Choudrant High, replacing Mary Roton who transferred; and
Samantha Myers, technician at Hillcrest, replacing Patricia Buckhanan who was deceased.
George Murphy, Business Manager, delivered the sales tax collection report for the period ending July 31, 2014. Sales tax collections for the first month of the 14-15 fiscal year were $1,320,210 which was up 6.77% compared to the same month last year and year-to-date. Looking at the last three years, an upward trend was noted; that will help balance the budget. Recoveries through audits were $26,062 which was up from $2,211 last year. In the ’67/’79 sales tax fund $600,096 was collected, and $720,114 was collected in the ’93/’00 sales tax fund. The primary reason for the increase was once again oil and gas extractions which should continue for a few years.
In the health care fund, there was a loss of $8,058 for the month ending June 30, 2014, according to Mr. Murphy. Year-to-date through six months, the fund was up $1,175,701.
Ruston School District #1 renovation and construction projects were all going well reiterated Charles Owen, Director of Auxiliary Services. He narrated pictures of those sites as well as the additional work at Ruston High School’s Hoss Garrett Stadium, Dubach School, and the track at Simsboro School.
Mr. Bell said Engineer Paul Riley was nearing completion of plans relative to the construction of a track at Choudrant High School. Securing bids for that project at this meeting would allow for a possible September contractor bid date. He requested permission to do so.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission for the advertisement of bids for the construction of a track at Choudrant High School.
Modifications to the existing loading dock area and the installation of a layer of 5/8” plywood over the existing decking at the existing classroom wing comprised change order #3 on the Cypress Springs project. Approval of the same would add $36,255 in costs but the contract time would be unchanged. Mr. Owens recommended approval of the change order.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to approve change order # 3 on the Cypress Springs project increasing the contract price by $36,255.
Mr. Owens also requested permission to formally approve change order #1 for the electric and transformer relocation at Glen View. Included in that were: re-feed the lower “west” building, relocate a feed that was connecting the main mechanical room and the south wing mechanical room, and delete one 4” feed from transformer to the pull box. If approved the contract time would remain unchanged, and $10,900 would be added to the cost of the project.
Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Ms. Harrison, the Board unanimously voted to approve change order #1 on the Glen View electric and transformer relocation project with an increased cost of $10,900.
Change order #4 for the RHS L.J. Hoss Garrett Stadium project was the next item to be considered. Mr. Owens listed items included that raised the cost by $52,678. They were: concrete and select fill base, remove and replace the existing cross bracing on the bleachers, chain link fence change, and add two changing tables. The contract time would not be changed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to approve change order #4 adding $52,678 to the contract amount for the RHS L.J. Hoss Garrett Stadium project.
Mr. Owens also asked for approval of change order #1 for the James Field/L.J. Hoss Garrett Stadium lighting project at Ruston High School. The change order actually issued a $5,000 credit from the contingency allowance and added 30 days.
Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to approve change order #1 decreasing the contract sum by $5,000 and increasing the contract time by 30 days on the lighting project at the James Field/L.J. Hoss Garrett Stadium at Ruston High School.
The time was imminent to wrap up the RHS L.J. Hoss Garrett Stadium, James Field/Hoss Garrett Stadium lights, and Glen View electric and transformer relocation projects. Charles Owens asked for permission to execute the applicable documents following an appropriate and thorough review.
Upon a motion by Ms. Abrahm, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission and authorize the superintendent, his staff, and the architect to executive the Substantial Completion documents for the RHS L.J. Hoss Garrett Stadium, James Field/Hoss Garrett Stadium lights, and Glen View electric and transformer relocation projects.
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. Ricky Edmiston, Secondary Supervisor, asked that revisions to the 2014-2015 PPP be approved in order to be in full compliance with all state regulations. He indicated that an entire copy of the PPP was placed in board packets.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Hunt, the Board unanimously voted to approve the revised 2014-2015 Lincoln Parish Pupil Progression Plan.
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 for the year ending June 30, 2014, as presented.
Upon a motion by Ms. Harrison, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to approve the System’s Survey & Compliance Questionnaire for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, as presented.
Mr. Murphy called attention to the revised budget for 13-14 in order to adjust the original budget to the actual amounts. When the budget was prepared in 2013, he expected to begin the year with a $1,803,353 deficit; however, the final figure turned out to be $2,237,000. The almost $500,000 difference occurred after all of the projects discussed in the Building and Grounds Committee, with the exception of those in the Ruston bond projects, were paid out of operating funds during the last year -- those included $1.5 million in Dubach, $1.5 in Simsboro, over $1 million on the RHS concessions and restroom, and the Choudrant track that will be built. Not all of those funds were expended during the past year, but were spent during the last few years. The Choudrant track was not actually budgeted, but if it had been, there would have been a $3.3 million deficit budgeted. He attributed the budget deficit to that spending. Actually transferred out of the fund during the 13-14 year was $2.5 million. Without that, a little surplus would have been realized. Mr. Murphy noted it’s nothing to be alarmed about, but something of which to be aware. Sales tax collections were up, so the school system closed with an ending fund balance right at $31 million. Over the last approximately five years, that balance has dropped from about $40 million to $31 million. Again he stated because all of that money was not spent on normal, recurring expenditures it was nothing to be alarmed about. It was spent on projects that will have a long life.
He closed by saying that we did have a good year as far as sales taxes collections. He expects to include expenditures for the RHS baseball complex and tennis courts in the beginning budget that will be presented at the next meeting of the Board.
Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Mr. Hunt, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the revised 2013-2014 budget.
Board members were reminded by George Murphy that each fall schools are allocated monies from the 1979 sales tax fund to provide supplements for additional library supplies ($2.50), classroom supplies ($3.75), office supplies and equipment repair/purchase ($4.00), expenses for 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 were the same amounts as last year. Also to be included in the checks were 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 $111,893.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Mr. Hunt, the Board unanimously voted to approve the fall allocations of school instructional supply money as outlined on the schedule disseminated by Mr. Murphy.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Bell:
1. Congratulated Ruston High School for being tops in Northeast Louisiana with the Department of Education for students achieving higher scores on the AP exam - not only the number of students taking the courses, but about 64% achieving a 3, 4, or 5 on the test. He opined they are doing a tremendous job, and he is very proud of that accomplishment. Mr. Bell also noted that the other schools are working hard and doing more with the AP and dual credit programs.
2. 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 in Ruston High School’s auditorium is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13, at 8:30 a.m. He invited members to attend. Maintenance and cafeteria personnel and bus drivers also have back-to-school meetings scheduled on Thursday.
3. Noted that the administration is currently working to understand and implement Act 654 from the recent legislation session that deals with transportation. Although the Act was written specifically for students crossing a two lane highway in an urban area like Orleans Parish, it went beyond the intent and ended with a greater implication. Even though crossing from the left hand side has always been discouraged in Lincoln Parish and many routes are designed where that doesn’t happen, the administration is working to comply with the Act at the same time as the authors are working to correct the wording that ADD an undue hardship on school districts. The cost to add buses and drivers or double routes and the time element involved with that in order to fully comply with the Act is being investigated. He will update the Board on the matter at a later time.
4. Communicated that pursuant to the FCC’s ERATE and the Technology Assessment and Readiness programs, the 2014-2017 technology plan was submitted to the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) by Debbie Pender, Technology Facilitator. A copy was included in packets. He was happy to report it had been approved by the LDOE’s technology department.
5. Reminded that qualifying for the November election begins on August 20 and runs through August 22, 2014.
6. Asked to place on calendars a Retirement Reception for Charles Owens on Friday, August 29, 2014, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the Title I building.
After one comment from a board member, President Anders asked Hayden Hanes to address the Board. He said he is the Regional Representative for U.S. Senator David Vitter, and he wanted to offer their support and help with a federal agency for board members and their constituents. Mr. Hanes specifically noted that they can’t look for grants for the school system, but would be glad to write letters of support and put our people in contact with decision makers that could answer specific questions.
There being no further business, upon a motion by Ms. Best the meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m.
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Danny L. Bell, Secretary
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Otha L. Anders, President