LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

 Ruston, Louisiana

REGULAR SESSION

 Tuesday, November 7, 2017   6:00 p.m.

The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, 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. David Ferguson, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, and Ms. Susan Wiley.

Mr. Curtis Dowling was absent.

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

Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to amend the agenda adding one Recognition: Principals for Performance Increments and one Report:  School Performance Scores/District Performance Score.

Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on October 3, 2017, as printed.

Lisa Bastion, Assistant Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer, said there were many who could be recognized at this point in the meeting, but she was excited to be recognizing three principals following recently released accountability data.

Dubach School, with Principal Pam Pruden, grew 8.7 points in their School Performance Score (SPS), which moved them from a designated “C” to a “B.”  Ms. Bastion was proud to present a certificate and a monetary award and recognize Ms. Pruden for that accomplishment.

Principal of Ruston High, Ricky Durrett, was presented with a certificate and award because the school maintained its “A,” grew 3.7  points, and had a SPS of 111.

Choudrant High School had the largest growth in the district by advancing 9.4 points.  They also maintained their “A,” had a 123.5 score, and were recognized as a Louisiana Top Gains School for the year.  In combination schools, Choudrant High was fifth in the State, and the first public school.  He was also presented a certificate and a monetary award.

All three principals addressed the Board, expressed their thanks, and communicated that so many people involved with their schools were doing such great work: their outstanding faculties and staff, the administration, board members, the community, parents, and especially the students.

Lisa Bastion asked the Board to make a decision regarding the three policy revisions that had been proposed at the last meeting: 

JDA – Corporal Punishment;

JGCD – Administration of Medication; and

JS – Student Fees, Fines and Charges.

Mr. Barmore made a motion to approve the revised policies.  Mr. Mack had some concerns about the Corporal Punishment policy, so he made a substitute motion to table the approval of the JDA - Corporal Punishment policy and to approve the JGCD – Administration of Medication and JS – Student Fees, Fines and Charges revised policies.  Ms. Henderson seconded Mr. Mack’s motion, which passed by a unanimous vote.

Because the Dubach School District No. 5 maintenance and operation millage (2.99 mills) will expire in 2018 and the Choudrant School District No. 6 maintenance and operation millage (2.99 mills) will expire in 2019, Business Manage George Murphy presented a Resolution calling for an election for the renewal of those millages to be held on April 28, 2018.  He asked the Board to approve the same.

Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Mr. Hunt, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to approve the Resolution in order to call an election on April 28, 2018, for voters to consider the renewal of taxes of the Dubach School District No. 5 and Choudrant School District No. 6 of the Parish of Lincoln.

                        The Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) with the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce expires on December 31, 2017.  For the immeasurable value of the benefits received for the $650 membership fee, the Administration recommended the adoption of the revised one-year CEA, which had been prepared by the Board’s attorney, Jeff Robinson.

                        Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

A surplus of 120 MacBook computers at Ruston High School purchased in 2010 had received a lot of wear and tear and were at the end of their useful lives.  George Murphy asked for them to be declared surplus.

Upon a motion by Ms. Wiley, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to declare the computers surplus, advertise for them to be sold, authorize a surplus sale, and dispose of them in a prudent manner if there are no buyers.

Director of Human Resources, Dr. Doris Lewis, continued with a personnel report.  She communicated the:

1.      Resignation of Kristie Braud, teacher at Cypress Springs, effective October 10, 2017. 

2.      Employment of Raytez Elliott as behavior interventionist at Glen View effective November 6, 2017, replacing Deborah Melton who resigned.

3.      Resignation of school food service technician at Cypress Springs, Martha Gipson, effective October 12, 2017.

4.      Retirement of Huey Holyfield as custodian at Cypress Springs effective December 18, 2017.

                        Sales tax collections for the month ending October 31, 2017, were $1,659,332, which was up 12.29% compared to the same month last year and 6.21% year-to-date, according to George Murphy.  Recoveries through audits were good for the month, but down 74% for the year.

                        Moving on to the September 2017 Financial Update, Mr. Murphy said when compared to last month, the Total Fund Balance was down $1.9 million.  When compared to September 2016, the balance was down $154,000.

George Murphy noted that the self-insured Health Care Fund was down $77,000 for the month of September 2017 and a little over $1 million year-to-date.  He hopes the changes that the Board approved last month will make next year a better year.

Lisa Bastion used a PowerPoint presentation to explain that for the first time ever Lincoln Parish received an "A" letter grade and grew 4.4 points - from a 96 to a 100.4.  She reminded those present that Glen View and Hillcrest do not receive their own SPS, but share in their sister schools', Cypress Springs and Ruston Elementary.  Grades and scores for 2017 were:

She said the administration was very proud of the “A” District Performance Score and the growth that had been made; however, there is still work to be done as the school district strives to ensure that every school does its best educating the students and every student is being challenged to reach their full potential.  In addition, the scale changes next year and will make it harder to reach the same grades.  Mrs. Bastion expressed thanks to the Board for having faith and appreciation to all of the principals.

                      Superintendent Milstead also said seeing the growth had been a real positive for the school district.  Much of the credit could be given to great personnel, a lot of motivating conversations, and much hard work at the Central Office and by principals and those in the schools.  He noted that the students are better off and thanked everyone who had a part.  Mr. Milstead said it’s about students more than scores, and he looks forward to the challenges for next year.

                        In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Milstead said:

                        1.   He had shared through email what was being done by the administration to help Head Start after a recent fire destroyed the school system’s building that housed their program.  He pledged to continue to pursue efforts on behalf of them to get them into a facility that was more amenable to where they need to be. 

                        2.   The project of placing generators at all of the schools, Bus Barn, Central Office, and the Maintenance Facility was ongoing.  A slab had been poured at the Central Office.  The generators were in place at the schools, and they will be hooked up during the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays.  Those should all be functional by Christmas.  He looks forward to being able to continue to function, at least in the offices at the schools and in the Central Office, when a power outage occurs.

                        3.   Included in packets was a list of eight bids that had been received for the construction of special education classrooms at Ruston High School.  They ranged from $996,600 to $545,320.  He had been given permission to accept the lowest bid meeting specifications subject to a 15% overage, which he did when he awarded the bid to Vista Construction with the low bid of $545,320.  They plan to start almost immediately and hope to be finished by the start of school in the fall of 2018.

                        4.   An easy instruction sheet was placed in portfolios.  Those wanting to find School Performance Scores or any other information about any schools and early childhood centers in any area of the state could now do so on a computer. Information could also be found on an enrichment piece that would become 5% of elementary schools’ School Performance Scores starting with the 19-20 school year.  Traditionally only test scores were used for elementary students.  The growth of children year-to-year would also be incorporated as the third factor.  The high school level would mostly continue as has been, but there were some slight differences that will be explained to the Board in near future along with what the schools are doing to prepare the upperclassmen.

                        Trott Hunt congratulated the Administration again on the fabulous accomplishment of achieving an “A” District Performance School.

                        President Mitcham verbalized his thanks for the work being done with Head Start especially since that was not a LPSB program.

                        There being no further business, upon a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 6:27 p.m.

_______________________________                                                  _______________________________

Mike Milstead, Secretary                                                                        Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President