LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, November 5, 2019 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, 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, Dr. David Gullatt, Mr. Danny Hancock, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Hunter Smith, and Ms. Susan Wiley.
Ms. Lynda Henderson was absent.
President Mitcham called the meeting to order and welcomed guests. Ms. Wiley gave the invocation, and Mr. Ferguson led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Ms. Wiley, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on October 1, 2019, as printed.
Debbie Pender, Technology Coordinator, shared an update on the 2020-2021 ERATE application. She and Seth Grigsby, Network Administrator, had been accessing the district’s network needs and projecting what future needs there will be. They are reviewing a rough draft of the 33-page proposal that will be posted in November. There will be a pre-bid meeting at the end of November, with the inquiry period during December. Ms. Pender hopes to have all proposals in by mid-January. The proposals will be scored to determine the vendor of choice for network needs for the 2020-2021 school year. The chosen vendor will be brought to the Board for approval in February or March. The proposal requests wireless access points, switches, firewall, caching server, wiring and installation, as well as basic maintenance and support.
Director of Human Resources, Dr. Doris Lewis, continued with a personnel report. She communicated the following information:
1. Retirement of Tammy Coates, itinerant gifted teacher, effective December 21, 2019.
2. Resignation of Stacie White, teacher at Cypress Springs, effective October 24, 2019.
3. Employment of Victoria Roberson, teacher at LPECC, effective August 7, 2019, replacing Samantha Garner who transferred.
4. Employment of Charles Plunkett, bus operator in the Ruston area, effective October 8, 2019, replacing Sherwood Payne who retired; and
Mika Bourgeois, bus operator in the Ruston area, effective October 17, 2019, replacing Richard Garrett who resigned.
5. Retirement of Glenda Jones, custodian at LPECC, effective September 27, 2019; and
Robert Mitchell, maintenance at central office, effective December 21, 2019.
6. Resignation of Regina Walker, cafeteria technician at LPECC, effective October 21, 2019.
7. Points of Reference/Transfers of the following effective October 3, 2019, unless otherwise noted:
Kathleen Roberts from Ruston Elementary to cafeteria manager at LPECC, replacing Dana Wright who transferred to technician at Ruston Elementary;
Glenda Samuel from cafeteria technician to interim cafeteria manager at Ruston Elementary, replacing Kathleen Roberts who transferred; and
Dana Wright from LPECC to cafeteria technician at Ruston Elementary, effective October 8, 2019, replacing Glenda Samuel who transferred to manager.
James Payton, New Construction Coordinator, narrated several photographs and gave the following construction update:
1. The area for the new parking lot at Simsboro School was being cleared of trees, old stumps, and debris from an old house that was once there.
There was a problem with an old chipped stump, a large gas line, and a tree that is on DOT property that would need to be cut. We have been given permission to cut the tree. The other two problems would soon be solved. Select fill was being hauled in to raise the lot four feet.
2. A rolling gate was being installed in conjunction with the new road project at Choudrant Elementary; a second one would be installed at the end of the project. They will secure the road when school is closed and at night. School officials are pleased with the installation and feel more secure.
3. Things were moving slowly at the new Pre-K classroom site at Choudrant Elementary due to rain. Grade beams for the outer perimeter of the building have been installed; select fill was being hauled in to bring the dirt up to the top of the grade beam. Plumbing would be “roughed in” next and the slab should be poured by Thanksgiving.
4. The RHS press box was completely finished. Substantial Completion documents would be voted on later in the meeting. The first ballgame in the stadium was held on October 18th. The scoreboard and lights both worked well.
Sales tax collections for the month ending October 31, 2019, were up 3.4% compared to the same month last year. Collections were up .85% for the first four months of the year compared to the same four months last year, according to Business Manager Juanita Duke.
Moving on to the September 2019 Financial Update, Ms. Duke said that all funds combined in the total fund balance were $29.16 million. Of that total, the unassigned fund balance figure was $9.3 million, which is 13.38% of our annual budgeted expenses. Several of the maintenance and operation funds have negative balances. These balances would grow when property taxes are collected in December.
Ms. Duke noted that claims for the self-insured Health Care Fund were down for the month of September. Year-to-date claims are even with last year, which puts LPSB in a good position. Total net assets were $61,000 for the month of September 2019.
Following a month of studying three policy revisions and one policy deletion, Lisa Bastion, Chief Academic Officer/Assistant Superintendent, asked board members to approve the proposed changes to the policy manual.
Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Dr. Gullatt, the Board unanimously voted to approve revisions to School and Student Safety – EBBB, Emergency/Crisis Management – EBBC, and Student Fees, Fines, and Charges – JS, also the deletion of Threats of Terrorism or Violence – JCDAH.
Rik Cason, Transportation Supervisor, stated that bids for new buses were opened on October 31, 2019, at the Lincoln Parish School Board. One online bid was received from Ross Bus Sales. Bids were received in person from Kent Mitchell Bus Sales and Scott Truck L.L.C. After careful analysis and comparison of bids, it was recommended that the bid from Scott Truck L.L.C. be accepted as the lowest bid that fully met specifications for the conventional buses.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to accept the bid from Scott Truck L.L.C. for $74,140.00 each for the purchase of five 2021 International conventional school buses for a total sale price of $370,700.00.
Ms. Duke stated the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) with the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce expires on December 31, 2019. 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, Lewis Jones.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Payton presented change order #1 for the Ruston High School press box. He stated that change orders are not ideal however; this particular one will save the Board money so it is a positive. Hearing no questions, he recommended the Board approve change order #1.
Upon a motion by Ms. Best, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to approve change order #1 for the RHS press box project reducing the contract price by $759.00 to $327,741.00 and adding 21 days to the contract time.
Ms. Duke shared information regarding the Region 8 Education Service Center, Interlocal Purchasing System (known as TIPS). TIPS is a purchasing group that operates very similar to the Louisiana State Contract list. She recommended the Board pass the resolution that is required to take advantage of that pricing. Ms. Duke read the resolution in full.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to approve the resolution authorizing membership and participation in the TIPS purchasing cooperative.
Most of the work at the Ruston High School press box and the light and pole replacement project was complete except the final punch list items. Mr. Payton suggested that Substantial Completion documents be executed based on the recommendation of the architect after his preparation of the final punch list and other appropriate documents. Substantial Completion means the owner can use the press box and the lights and the owner becomes responsible for insurance and utilities.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Mr. Barmore, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission and authorize the superintendent, his staff, and the architect to execute Substantial Completion documents for the RHS press box and the RHS light and pole replacement project.
Ricky Edmiston, Auxiliary Supervisor, explained that the existing switchgear at Ruston High School was installed in 1967. The components of the system include a high voltage switch, transformer, and a breaker panel. The main switchgear supplies 75% of Ruston High School’s electrical needs including the HVAC system and the cafeteria. A 600-amp breaker was recently replaced with a reconditioned breaker. New breakers for this system are no longer available. Mr. Edmiston said to prevent a future outage caused by the failure of the system, a new main switchgear needed to be installed. If approved, the work would begin as soon as school was out in May. The project should be complete before classes begin for the 2020 school year.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for a new main switchgear for Ruston High School.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Milstead said that:
1. The annual LSBA convention would be held February 16 – 18, 2020, in Baton Rouge.
2. The State of Louisiana has mandated that every school board have an open meeting Special Education Advisory Council. The council must consist of 50% special education parents, 25% central office personnel, and 25% school personnel. The purpose is to “air” concerns that might need to be brought to the attention of the superintendent and the Board, related to special education issues. This must be in place by January 2020. We will be required to have a minimum of three meetings a year. This is a positive move so that we can have better communication with parents of special needs students.
3. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new STEM Center November 14, at 10:00 a.m. Several French Immersion students will be on hand to conduct a lesson in French.
4. School Performance Scores and District Performance Scores will be released tomorrow. This will provide us with the data that indicates how well our schools are doing compared to other schools in our district. This is the second year using the new scoring method. The scoring method will change in the 2021-2022 school year and again in 2024-2025. The results are very positive; we will be one of the highest scoring districts again in Louisiana and the highest performing district in north Louisiana. He has seen the preliminary scores and believes some are a misrepresentation of what our schools are actually achieving. Just because a school has a “C” does not mean it is average, these are great schools.
5. At our December board meeting five principals will be recognized because of the growth of their schools or because they are maintaining an“A”.
6. Due to proposed changes in the retirees Blue Cross plan, there will be an informational meeting held in the Title 1 building, November 19 – 21. Retirees are invited to come meet with Blue Cross representatives with any questions they may have regarding providers and prescriptions.
7. In the last two weeks, two neighboring school systems have come to visit us because of our implementation of a curriculum. Choudrant Elementary was visited regarding the implementation of the Jump Math Program. In addition, Ruston Elementary shared their implementation of the Guide Book ELA component. The State Department called and asked if we would share this information with other districts, which speaks highly of Lincoln Parish. Kuddos to both Choudrant and Ruston Elementary for their implementation of new curriculum.
There being no further business, upon a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Mike Milstead, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President