LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, October 3, 2017 10:30 a.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, at 10:30 a.m. at Ruston High School, 900 Bearcat Drive, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. Michael Barmore, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. David Ferguson, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Lynda Henderson (arrived after the meeting began), Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, and Ms. Susan Wiley.
Mr. Otha Anders was absent.
Prior to the meeting, a Meet and Greet with Residents Teachers was held in the teachers’ lounge.
President Joe Mitcham called the meeting to order, and Mr. Hancock gave the invocation. Dr. Doris Lewis, Director of Human Resources, led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Ms. Henderson entered the meeting.
Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Ms. Abrahm, seconded by Ms. Wiley, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on September 5, 2017.
Principal of Ruston High School, Ricky Durrett, welcomed guests to the school, which has about 1,341 students attending - that was up 62 from the end of the previous year. He said they had a great start of the 17-18 year, and he believes the school might receive a School Performance Score of 110 in the near future. That would be about 3 to 4 points of growth. Because it was Manufacturing Week, some students were visiting Benteler Steel in Shreveport and others were going to plants in Shreveport on Friday. They try to let students see and experience what they are interested in.
Mr. Mitcham thanked Mr. Durrett for the hospitality and refreshments that had been provided.
Cathi Cox-Boniol, Lincoln ACHIEVE Coordinator, felt privileged and honored to recognize a remarkable young man who had scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. She introduced Davis Glen Ellis, a junior at Ruston High, and provided background information on him. Ms. Cox-Boniol presented a plaque to him in recognition of his outstanding achievement and asked him to speak. Mr. Ellis thanked the schools and especially Ruston High School, his parents, and God for the education, support, encouragement, and ability he had received. He introduced his father who was in attendance.
Mr. Mitcham expressed the board’s pride and congratulations over Davis Glen’s fantastic achievement.
Superintendent Mike Milstead said it was a great honor to have Mr. Ellis in the district, and he looks forward to his continued education.
Approximately 15 Resident Teachers were introduced by Julie Stephenson, Teacher Pipeline Lead/University Liaison. She explained how the teachers were part of an extended-year teaching program that she expected to help with the complex problem of teacher turn over. In addition, she hopes the partnerships with Louisiana Tech and Grambling State University help Lincoln Parish attract, hire, and retain the best teachers. Mentoring, direct support, and compensation were also part of the package to further support the college students. Ms. Stephenson introduced Dr. Donald Schillinger, Dean of the College of Education at Louisiana Tech.
The following personnel items were communicated by Dr. Doris Lewis:
1. Resignation of Victoria Axton, ELA at Ruston High School, effective September 4, 2017.
2. Employment of Kourtney Smith as counselor at Ruston High School effective October 2, 2017, replacing Jessie Bryan who transferred.
3. Employment of Ronnie Holloway as bus driver effective September 11, 2017, on a new route in the Dubach area.
George Murphy, Business Manager, reported that sales tax collections for the month of September 2017 were $1,491,336; that was up 7.76% compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date the fund was up 4.19%. There were no recoveries through audits for the month, and only $114.76 had been collected for the year.
In a Financial Update for August of 2017, Mr. Murphy communicated that the Total Fund Balance was $40.5 million, which was down $718,000 compared to August 2016, but up $1.4 million compared to July 2017.
The Health Care Fund was down $2,891 for the month of August 2017, and it was down $980,000 year-to-date stated George Murphy. He would discuss it further later on in the meeting.
Five qualified bidders submitted bids that were opened on September 14, 2017, for the purchase and installation of generators at all district schools, Central Office, Maintenance Facility, and Bus Barn. James Payton, New Construction Coordinator, communicated that bids from Albritton Electric of Ruston, Bannister Energy of Calhoun, Central Electric of West Monroe, Ouachita Electric of West Monroe, and Twin City Electric of West Monroe ranged from $145,601 to $293,000. Additive alternate #1 bids ranged from $7,500 to $64,690. Twin City Electric, who submitted the lowest base bid, requested that their bids be withdrawn because of a mathematical error. He shared the administration’s recommendation to accept the second lowest base bid of $234,000 submitted by Albritton Electric and the lowest bid of $7,500 for additive alternate #1 also submitted by Albritton Electric.
He introduced Kip Franklin, Homeland Security Director for Lincoln Parish, who helped secure the FEMA funds to pay for a large portion of the generator project.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to accept the base bid of $234,000 submitted by Albritton Electric and the bid of $7,500 submitted by Albritton Electric for additive alternate #1 and award them as contractor for the generator purchase and installation project at the district schools, Central Office, Maintenance Facility, and Bus Barn.
Mr. Murphy reminded members that seven changes to the Health Plan had been recommended at the last meeting. They approved the adoption of a closed formulary for drugs but seemed reluctant to vote on the other six. Following a month of study, he asked for approval of the following changes to become effective January 1, 2018, which had been recommended by Mr. David Charpentier, Vice President of Brown and Brown Insurance:
1. Increase emergency room co-pay from $200 to $250.
2. Increase pharmacy deductible from $250 to $350.
3. Increase pharmacy copays from:
A. $10 generic to $20.
B. $30 preferred name brand to $60.
C. $100 non-preferred name brand – no change.
4. Exclude drugs that are essentially over the counter drugs which are combined into a prescription drug.
5. Exclude drugs that have over-the-counter alternatives.
6. Increase the all-inclusive maximum out-of-pocket from $3,500 to $4,500.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hunt, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted to approve the Health Plan changes from above.
Three policies were being recommended for revision. Assistant Superintendent, Lisa Bastion, asked board members to study the proposed changes to Corporal Punishment – JDA, Administration of Medication – JGCD, and Student Fees, Fines and Charges – JS until the next meeting when a vote would be taken.
A public announcement of the Notice of Public Meeting was required in order for the Board to adopt on November 7, 2017, a resolution calling the election of the renewal of ad valorem taxes for April 28, 2018. George Murphy read verbatim the following public announcement of the Notice of Public Meeting:
Notice is hereby given that at its meeting to be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. at the Parish School Board Office, 410 S. Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana, the Parish School Board of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, plans to consider adopting a resolution ordering and calling elections to be held within (i) Dubach School District No. 5 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, and (ii) Choudrant School District No. 6 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, to authorize the renewal of ad valorem taxes.
No action was required, but Mr. Murphy did answer one question.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Milstead said:
1. The Enhanced Calendar Schools that are being piloted at Cypress Springs and Glen View will have an additional 30 days of school for those who choose to participate. This summer he anticipates them beginning on June 11, taking the 4th of July week off, ending after the last 3 weeks in July, and students having 2 weeks off before the regular school year starts. Even with that schedule, personnel would have 5 weeks off in the summer. Knowing there are students in the school system who would benefit from an extended year, the program was being carefully rolled out on a small scale. Enrichment plans were also being considered. In an effort to appeal to the right people and secure the right teachers, he’s met with groups of parents and teachers and procured the help of Mr. John Kyte, a specialist, whose expertise has been invaluable. He truly believes that minimizing summer learning loss is in the best interest of the students, and if the costs can be sustained Lincoln Parish will eventually have a stand-alone Enhanced Calendar School for any student in the school system who chooses to attend. The projected cost for the first summer was $300,000 to $400,000 for the additional schools days. Mr. Milstead was excited because he believes it will be an investment in the community and will continue the prosperity that is presently enjoyed.
2. Next Tuesday Dr. Les Guice, President of La Tech University; Rick Gallot, President of Grambling State University; and Doug Postel, Administrator of La Delta Community College-Ruston Campus; and he will speak for 15 minutes and participate in a panel discussion as part of the Lincoln Parish United: Education Town Hall Meeting at Ruston High School at 6:00 p.m. RHS’s eco-car expo and tours of the New Tech Academies will begin at 4:30 that afternoon. He invited everyone to attend.
3. Because of results from the survey done over the summer, he has begun a Parent Advisory Group, which met last Thursday, and was already beneficial. One of their biggest concerns was how early some children are picked up by the bus in the mornings. They felt that buses picking up students at 6:20 a.m. and having teachers on duty at 6:30 a.m. was incredibly early. He wants to look at a way to resolve that issue, and may have to increase the number of bus routes; however, finding bus drivers is hard. In the survey they were very complimentary of the Lincoln Parish School Board and how things were going in Lincoln Parish.
4. A Professional Development day has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 10, so teachers will be involved in that and students will stay home that day.
5. He appreciates the cooperative efforts the school system has with La Tech and Grambling in an effort to do very special things for the students. Today members can visit an engineering room at RHS, which he believes is very special for the district now and in the future.
A couple of board members opined that Mr. Milstead was doing a good job getting the message out about the Enhanced Calendar School and making great progress laying the foundation. They appreciate his efforts and communications as the school system adds the pilot program.
Dustin Whitlock, Director of New Tech Academies, said Principal Durrett and he were available to provide a quick tour for those who could stay about 20 more minutes and walk through the building and see the health sciences, STEM sciences, ag sciences, and new engineering classrooms. He explained that New Tech was still in transition from project-based learning in traditional courses to elective courses following a survey of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
After a comment from one board member and upon a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 11:05 a.m.
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Mike Milstead, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President