LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

Ruston, Louisiana

REGULAR SESSION

Tuesday, June 5, 2018   6:00 p.m.

The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room of 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. David Ferguson, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Lynda Henderson, and Mr. Joe Mitcham.

Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Trott Hunt, Mr. George Mack, Jr., and Ms. Susan Wiley were absent.

President Joe Mitcham called the meeting to order.  Mr. George Murphy, Business Manager, gave the invocation, and Ms. Abrahm led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.

Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.

Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on May 1, 2018, as distributed.

Cathi Cox-Boniol, Lincoln ACHIEVE Coordinator, recognized and presented a plaque to Semi-Finalist Principal of the Year, Pam Pruden. She summarized background information on the principal of Dubach Elementary School and shared what steps she had taken to reach that level of state competition. In addition, Ms. Cox-Boniol was extremely pleased to announce that she had recently been notified that Ms. Pruden had progressed to the Finalist stage. She was given another plaque for being 1 of 9 Finalists for Principal of the Year.

Ms. Pruden said she was humbled to be recognized for doing her job, and that she is part of a great team at Dubach made up of teachers, students, and parents. She is proud to represent Dubach Elementary and Lincoln Parish in the Principal of the Year competition. Ms. Pruden introduced her husband who was present in attendance.

Mr. Mitcham and Superintendent Milstead congratulated Ms. Pruden, expressed pride in the school leader who was ranked among the top 3 in North Louisiana in her profession, and wished her well as she moves to the next level.

Superintendent Mike Milstead called attention to a copy of the revised Capital Outlay Plan that was in the packet. He stated that the document is used as a guide for spending in order to prioritize district facility needs and is revised from year to year. The timeline was revised with one of this year’s changes being to move the STEM building into the 2018-2019 school year.

Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted to approve the revised Capital Outlay Plan as a guide for future major spending for district construction and/or maintenance issues.

Mr. Milstead stated in 2016 the Board voted for Mike Walpole to serve as the architect for said Capital Outlay projects until 2021. Providing Mr. Walpole the general authorization to advertise for bids on this year’s projects as needed will allow him to move forward and avoid coming to the Board for permission to bid.

Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Mr. Anders, the Board unanimously voted to grant authorization for architect, Mike Walpole, to advertise for bids for projects on the Capital Outlay Plan for 2018-2019 as he determines he is ready to do so.

James Payton, New Construction Coordinator, reported that bids for the STEM building were opened and reviewed at 2:00 p.m., on May 15, 2018. Nine qualified bidders submitted bids on the project. Bids ranged from $2,720,000 to $3,380,000. The project is slated to be completed in 365 days.

Upon a motion by Ms. Abrahm, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to accept the base bid of $2,720,000 submitted by Triad Builders less $10,048 from value engineering plus additive alternate #1 for $11,000 and additive alternate #2 for $6,700 for a total of $2,727,652 for the construction of the STEM building.

                        Bid opening was held on May 19, 2018, for the purchase of the following items for the 18-19 school year: copy/duplicating paper, Scott paper towels, dust mop rentals, and fuel. Ricky Edmiston, Supervisor of Auxiliary Services, recommended that the Board accept the lowest bids meeting specifications.

Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted to accept the lowest bids meeting specifications for the purchase of materials and supplies for the 18-19 school year as shown below:

            Company Submitting Bid

Fuqua Paper                                         2000 Cases of Copy Paper

Price Per Unit:  $29.45

Total for 2000 Cases:  $58,900.00

            Jackson Paper                                      600 Cases of Scott Towels

Price Per Case:  $38.95

Total for 600 Cases:  $23,370.00

            KAPS Textile Service                            Dust Mop Rentals

                                                            18 inch            $.45 each bi-weekly

                                                            36 inch             $.72 each bi-weekly

                                                            48 inch             $.82 each bi-weekly

            Hill Oil Company                                   Fuel

                                                            Unleaded regular                      $.1085

                                                            Unleaded plus                           $.1085

                                                            Unleaded premium                    $.1085

                                                            Low sulfur road use diesel         $.1125

                                                            Regular No. 2 grade diesel        $.1325

George Murphy shared the Lincoln Parish Sales and Use Tax Commission’s proposed budget for 18-19, which had increased from $198,018 to $207,063.  He verbalized, and Mr. Mitcham concurred, that the Commission is very efficient and does an excellent job collecting and disbursing sales tax collections.  Mr. Murphy noted that Denise Griggs, the Sales and Use Tax Commission’s Administrator, was in attendance and available to answer any questions about the budget.

 Hearing none, upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to approve the 2018-2019 Sales and Use Tax Commission’s proposed budget with total expenses of $207,063, of which 42% is paid by Lincoln Parish School Board.

                        Mr. Murphy reported that on November 7, 2017, the Board adopted a resolution to call a special election on April 28, 2018, for voters to consider Dubach School District No. 5, renewal of a special tax, and Choudrant School District No. 6, renewal of a special tax. The propositions were authorized by a majority of voters. In order to comply with the Louisiana Election Code, the Board must adopt a resolution canvassing the results of the election, so that it becomes part of the official record of the School Board.  Total votes cast for Dubach School District No. 5, renewal of a special tax, was as follows: 84 FOR and 62 AGAINST, passing by a majority of 22 or 57.5%, and for  Choudrant School District No. 6, a special tax, was as follows: 69 FOR and 56 AGAINST, passing by a majority of 13 or 55.2%.  Mr. Murphy asked the Board to adopt the resolution. President Mitcham asked for questions or comments from the Board members and the public; there were none.

                        Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to adopt the Resolution canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the election held in the Dubach School District No. 5, a special tax, and Choudrant School District No. 6, a special tax, on Saturday, April 28, 2018.

                        Mr. Milstead shared that Choudrant property owner Geraline Morrison had contacted him regarding property she owns, which is adjacent to Choudrant High. He reminded the Board the present population of the 2 schools includes over 800 students. With the growth of this school attendance zone, Lincoln Parish School Board had been looking at how additional property could be added to one of the school sites. An appraisal was done of Ms. Morrison’s property that valued the property to be worth $383,000.

                        Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to approve the purchase of approximately 14 acres of property located west of and adjoining present School Board property in Choudrant for the price of $383,000.

                        In accordance with state law, a solicitation for a proposal was sent to the only newspaper in Lincoln Parish prior to naming an official journal for the upcoming year.  George Murphy communicated that the Ruston Daily Leader offered $6.00 per legal square, which was an increase of $0.25 from last year. The maximum rate allowed by state law is $6.00 per legal square.  He recommended that the Board name them as the official journal.

Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted to name the Ruston Daily Leader as the official journal for fiscal year 2018-2019.

Mr. Murphy stated that Dubach Elementary had 260 lockers that were no longer in use and needed to be declared surplus.

Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to declare lockers at Dubach as surplus and authorized a surplus sale. Should there be no buyers on some items permission to dispose of these in a prudent manner was granted.

                        In her Personnel Report, Dr. Doris Lewis, Director of Human Resources, shared the following:

1.      Retirement of the following:

Bonnie Fogger, Payroll Accountant at Central Office, effective December 31, 2018; and

Jennifer Green, English teacher at Simsboro High, effective May 22, 2018.

2.      Resignation of the following effective May 22, 2018:

Sarah Pender, teacher at Cypress Springs;

Jordan Bostick, teacher at Dubach Elementary;

Elizabeth Marks, teacher at Dubach Elementary;

Tracy Stark, itinerate art teacher at Cypress Springs and Ruston Elementary;

Claire Anderson, teacher at Ruston Elementary;

Dustin Hampton, ELA teacher at Ruston High;

Laura Thompson, ELA teacher at Ruston High;

Cecilia Acosta, social studies teacher at Simsboro High;

Mark Alexander, science teacher at Simsboro High; and

Ragan Dendy, ELA teacher at Simsboro High.

3.      Points of Reference/Transfer of the following effective June 1, 2018, unless otherwise noted:

Lisa Wilmore from Secondary Supervisor to Secondary Supervisor – Middle Schools at the Central Office, due to a new position;

Ricky Durrett from Ruston High Principal to Secondary Supervisor – High Schools at the Central Office, due to job description changes;

Daryl Savage from Ruston Junior High Principal to Technology Facilitator at the Central Office, in a new position;

Lisa Mangum from Elementary Coordinator to Elementary Supervisor at the Central Office effective March 5, 2018, replacing Sherry Boyd who deceased;

Leslie Ray from Glen View to teacher at Choudrant Elementary effective August 13, 2018, replacing Angela Thomas who retired;

Amber DeVeaux from Ruston High to ELA teacher at Choudrant High effective August 13, 2018, replacing Zilla Cone who retired;

Staci White from Simsboro High to teacher at Cypress Springs effective August 13, 2018, replacing Sarah Pender who resigned;

Stephanie Register from Dubach Elementary to teacher at Glen View effective August 13, 2018, replacing Alexis DeFreese who transferred;

Alexis DeFreese from teacher to paraprofessional at Glen View, effective August 15, 2018, in a new position;

Mary Jill Spillers from Ruston Junior High to ELA teacher at I. A. Lewis effective August 13, 2018, replacing Madison Guy who resigned;

Keshia Osborne from Assistant Principal at Ruston Junior High to Interim Principal at I. A. Lewis, replacing John Young who transferred;

Stacy Allbritton from Ruston High to Language Immersion at Lincoln Parish Early Childhood effective August 13, 2018 in a new position;

Kim Davis from Lincoln Parish Early Childhood to speech therapist coordinator at Pupil Appraisal effective July 30, 2018, replacing Penny James who retired;

Alisia Thomason to Academic Assistant Principal and Freshman Academy Director at Ruston High effective July 16, 2018, due to additional job responsibilities;

Justin Barron from special education teacher to Administrative Assistant at Ruston High effective June 16, 2018, replacing Dan Gressett who transferred;

Dan Gressett from Assistant Principal to Interim Principal at Ruston High replacing Ricky Durrett who transferred;

John Young from Principal at I. A. Lewis to Principal at Ruston Junior High replacing Daryl Savage who transferred; and

Rose Kebe from I. A. Lewis to math teacher at Ruston Junior High effective August 13, 2018, replacing Sue Price who retired.

4.      Employment of the following effective August 13, 2018, unless noted otherwise:

James Odom, Payroll Manager at the Central Office effective July 1, 2018, replacing Bonnie Fogger who is retiring;

Rhonda Cox, math teacher at Choudrant High, replacing Sharon Morgan Smith who retired;

Pam Price, special education paraprofessional at Choudrant High, replacing Roycelyn Harrison who retired;

Dr. Tammy Schilling, health and physical education teacher at Hillcrest, replacing Leigh Ann Horton who retired;

                              Kyle Miller, math teacher at I. A. Lewis, replacing Rose Kebe who transferred;

Shauna Vallery, teacher at Ruston Elementary, replacing Claire Anderson who resigned;

Allison Free, math teacher at Ruston High, replacing Gregory Caudle who resigned; and

Kelsey Whitlock, ELA teacher at Ruston High, replacing Amber DeVeaux who transferred.

                        5.   Retirement of Debra Jordan, cafeteria technician at Choudrant Elementary, effective September 4, 2018.

                        6.   Termination of Margaret Pierce, cafeteria technician at Ruston High, effective April 30, 2018.

                        7.   Termination of Angela Coleman, custodian at Glen View, effective May 23, 2018; and

      Charles Parker, building supervisor at Ruston High, effective April 25, 2018

                        Dr. Lewis also communicated that the Lincoln Parish Job Fair was recently held and was well attended, with 30 elementary and 22 secondary candidates.

                        A sales tax report for the month ending May 2018 was presented by George Murphy.  He stated that year-to-date collections were up $940,000 compared to this time last year, which translates to a 5.95% increase. Recoveries through audits were down a little over 19% year-to-date.

                        Mr. Murphy also delivered an April 2018 financial update, and reported when compared to this time last year the Total Fund Balance was down about $3.9 million.

                        In a health plan update for April 2018, George Murphy said the health care fund was down $32,000 for the month; however, the fund was up $569,000 year–to-date. He stated he would be coming before the Board in August or September with recommendations for changes to the health care fund to ensure it remains viable.

                          James Payton gave the following construction update:

                        1.   Ruston High School special education building is almost complete. This project had added 3 rooms with a total of 3,000 sq. ft. for the special education department.

                        2.   A pole vault pit at Ruston High School had been renovated. This project included adding a slab for the pads. It was unsafe and unsightly before this repair.

                        3.   The new scoreboard at RHS would be complete by mid-July.  The press box, which was part of this project, is complete. The total project was under budget by about $90,000.

                        4.   Several more photos of the Choudrant property were shown.

                        Superintendent Milstead reminded the Board that Ruston High School had raised about one-half of the cost of the scoreboard through contributions.

                        Lisa Bastion, Assistant Superintendent, gave a report on the changes in accountability.

She shared pie charts and tables comparing time frames and grade levels. Over the last few years assessments have been changing, but further changes on how students are scored on assessments and the letter grade formulas are coming. She shared changes in 2016-17 and before, 2017-18 and 2018-19, and 2019-20 and beyond as well as changes in elementary schools, elementary and middle schools with grade 8, and high schools. These were changes in the school and district performance score formulas, which added various indexes to the formulas over time.

                        Explaining changes in assessments points, she noted that points for Advanced or Excellent would remain the same. Points for Mastery would decrease by 25 beginning 2017-18 and points for Basic/Good would decrease by 20 for that same time period.

                        Changes in letter grades were shown in the table below.

                        Mrs. Bastion noted that changes were implemented to help districts increase their scores.

                        In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Milstead noted that:

                        1.   A list of the 17-18 retirees had been included in the board packets He urged board members to congratulate retirees when they see them.

                        2.   A list of board meeting dates, times, and places from September 2018 through August 2019 was also included in the packets.  He noted that three meetings were scheduled at 10:30 a.m. in the schools.

                        3.   Qualifying and election dates were included in packets due to this being an election year for board members.

                        4.   Thursday there will be an insurance negotiation meeting regarding property that was destroyed on the corner of Oakdale and Vaughn Street in November. Those present will be several school board employees, insurance representatives, and Mike Walpole. The re-build value is higher than what the insurance company is offering.

                        5.   The administration is still working on a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the city regarding the Lincoln Center.  Members present from Lincoln Total Community Action Agency were recognized. He stated he had been in constant contact with these members with the goal to have them in the Lincoln Center by the first of August. Intentions are for plans to be finalized by July when the property will go to the city in exchange for which LPSB will have property rights to the new sport complex.

                        6.   The industrial tax exemption, which has been discussed before, is a cooperative effort between the City of Ruston, the Police Jury, and the Lincoln Parish School Board. The goal is to develop a common plan for those requesting the exemption. The Mayor has offered to take the lead in gathering more information to form the process for application.

                        7.   The July meeting will be held on the second Tuesday of the month.

                        8.   Mike Milstead and the Board congratulated Becky Gemelli. After 24 years as an Administrative Assistant to the Board and Superintendent, she is retiring at the end of the month. It was noted that she had been an assistant to 4 Superintendents. They presented her with a card, thanked her for her dedication, and wished her well.

                        In lieu of a reception for 2017-2018 retirees, they were presented certificates by Central Office Administrators at their schools or areas of assignment.  Mr. Milstead called attention to a list of retirees as follows:

         NAME                                    LOCATION                             YRS IN LINCOLN          TOTAL YRS

Janet Burse                    Cypress Springs (Teacher)                                 11                             11

Zilla Cone                       Choudrant High (Teacher)                                   26                             34

Reba Daniel                    Ruston High (Teacher)                                        26.25                         26.25

Susan Hermes                Itinerant (Teacher)                                              30                             30

Leigh Ann Horton            Hillcrest (Teacher)                                              22                             27

Shirley May                    Youth Rescue Center (Teacher)                          27.5                           27.5

Jan Norwood                  Ruston High (Teacher)                                        16.5                           17.5

Sue Price                       Ruston Junior High (Teacher)                             20                             20

Amanda Simmons           Youth Rescue Center (Teacher)                          29                             41

Sharon Morgan Smith      Choudrant High (Teacher)                                   20                             20

Angela Thomas             Choudrant Elementary (Teacher)                           32                             33.5

Nancy Waldron            Itinerant (Teacher)                                                 28                              28

Penny James                  Pupil Appraisal                                                    36                             36                     

Becky Gemelli             Central Office (Administrative Asst.)                      32                                35.5

Roycelyn Harrison          Choudrant High (Paraprofessional)                       11                              26

Cathy Franklin                Transportation (Bus Driver)                                 10                             10

James Patton                 Transportation (Bus Driver)                                 20                             20

Jerry Dade                     Central Office (Maintenance)                               33                             33

Huey Holyfield                Cypress Springs (Custodian)                               24                             24

Howard Mitchell              Cypress Springs (Custodian)                               14                             14

Willie Patton                   Ruston Elementary (Custodian)                            21                             21

Barbara Sowers              Choudrant Elementary (Custodian)                       13                             13           

Harriet Dunn                   Choudrant Elementary (Food Service)                  10                             10

Janis Nelson                   Early Childhood Center (Food Service)                 32                             32

Debra Jordan                  Choudrant Elementary (Food Service)                  18                             18

Kathy Tatum                   Early Childhood Center (Food Service)                 28                             28

Odessa Thompson          Ruston Elementary (Food Service)                       15                             15

                        There being no further business, upon a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 7:01 p.m.

__________________________________                       ___________________________________

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