LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, February 4, 2020 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. at the Central Office located at 410 South Farmerville Street in Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were 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. Debbie Abrahm and Ms. Lynda Henderson were absent.
President Mitcham called the meeting to order. Ms. Best gave the invocation, and Dr. Gullatt led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag
.
President Mitcham welcomed guests that were present.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Dr. Gullatt, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barmore, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on January 7, 2020, as presented.
Independent Auditor, Margie Williamson, presented an audit report for the year ending June 30, 2019. She called attention to two reports, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and the Single Audit Report and briefly went over the results of the audit.
In the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), the LPSB received an unmodified audit opinion, the best opinion possible, which means that the Board’s financial condition, position, and operations were fairly presented in the financial statements without any modifications. The CAFR lists all funds of the School Board in one column; it includes capital assets, debt, and other liabilities. On the statement of net position, Ms. Williamson shared that long- term liabilities include other post employee benefits ($132 million) and LPSB’s share of the state’s pension liabilities ($76 million). Governmental accounting standards require that the total of long-term liabilities are included on the financial statement. The ending net position had a deficit of $129 million caused by the pension liabilities and other post employee benefits.
The General Fund decreased by $3.5 million. It had an ending fund balance of $14.8 million, with an unassigned amount of $8.5 million. Some of that fund balance is restricted and committed to salaries and benefits. Although Special Revenue Funds generally do not have a balance, she reported that the School Food Service Fund had an ending fund balance of $982,000 and the Education Excellence Fund balance was $141,000. The Parishwide Maintenance Fund and all school district M&O funds had balances. The 2000 Sales Tax Fund and the 1993 Sales Tax Fund had ending fund balances, both of those are restricted, mostly for salaries and benefits. The Parishwide Capital Projects Fund balance was $1,133,451. The Insurance Proceeds Fund balance was $3.9 million; these are the insurance proceeds from the Head Start fire. The total net position of the self-insured Workers’ Compensation Fund was $157,000 and the Group Health Insurance was a little over $2 million. The total ending balance of all school accounts was $1.5 million.
Moving on to the Single Audit Report, the compliance part of the audit, Ms. Williamson said $9.3 million was the total of federal grants the district received for 2018-19. The federal programs her firm tested were the Title I and Title II funds; there were no federal findings in these funds. She reported there were two findings to recap. The first was the failure by Simsboro High School to follow board policy regarding student activity funds. The principal contacted the athletic director to look at the baseball account. The business office decided the internal auditor for the school board should conduct an audit. Their report noted that the baseball coach intentionally ignored school board receipting and expenditure procedures for the baseball fund. Throughout the year, he collected funds without receipting individuals who turned in money and did not deposit those funds in the school account. The baseball coach stated the funds collected and not deposited were used for various school purposes. He did not provide receipts for these expenditures. Several issues were also noted in that the school bookkeeper did not follow school board policy regarding student activity funds. There were numerous receipts written to individuals although she did not actually receive money for which the receipts were written. Most receipts reviewed had no supporting documentation. Fundraisers were not tracked and reconciled. The second finding was that the health insurance accounts receivable and premium revenues were overstated. This was due to an error in posting the receivables. When the information was presented to the board, the report was correct. Subsequently an entry was made that should have been posted to July 2019 but was posted to a prior year. The auditors recommend that a review be conducted after the reports are presented to the board. The business department will follow procedures to eliminate these findings. Mr. Mitcham and Mr. Anders added a word of appreciation to the finance and business department for the excellent job they do.
Superintendent Milstead explained that the first meeting of the Special Education Advisory Panel, or SEAP, was held last night. This panel was mandated by the state legislature and all districts must comply. The panel consists of 50% parents, 25% central office personnel, and 25% teachers. Lisa Wilmore, Special Education Supervisor, summarized the meeting. She said several parents shared their concerns regarding how intimidating IEP meetings could be. As a result, they discussed ways the meetings could be conducted differently. Three important items came out of this panel meeting. Ms. Wilmore shared that we need to be intentional and deliberate with parents’ understanding the IEP process, using simple and concise verbiage. We need to raise awareness of specific learning disabilities, and help parents understand what the process is moving forward once disabilities have been identified. Parent advocates are needed. There needs to be someone in meetings to help explain what is going on and how the IEP process works. Parents expressed concerns regarding technology. They were assured that technology funds are available and used for special education students. SEAP will meet again April 6 and bring ideas to make sure parents get what they need and understand the process. Board member and panel member Hunter Smith said it was a very positive meeting.
In her Personnel Report, Dr. Lewis verbalized the:
1. Retirement of Kristie Frasier, teacher at Glen View Elementary, effective May 26, 2020; and
Richard Goulart, social studies teacher at Ruston High School, effective June 13, 2020.
2. Resignation of the following effective December 21, 2019, unless otherwise noted:
Anita Thomas, health and physical education teacher at Choudrant High;
Ashley Randle, teacher at Cypress Springs, effective February 15, 2020;
Kacy Rondeau, French Immersion teacher at Glen View, effective February 3, 2020;
Candace Westbrook, science teacher at I. A. Lewis; and
Hannah Wallace, teacher at Ruston Elementary.
3. Employment of Katie Lashley, teacher at Ruston Elementary, effective January 6, 2020, replacing Hannah Wallace who resigned.
4. Resignation of Theodis Johnson, bus operator in the Ruston area, effective December 21, 2019.
5. Employment of Tim Kennedy, plumber in Maintenance Department, effective February 3, 2020.
According to Juanita Duke, Business Manager, sales tax collections for the month of January compared to this month last year were down about 1.5%. Total year-to-date collections, July through January, were up 1.9%.
Moving on to the December financial statement, Ms. Duke shared that she had changed the format of the report so the report was more transparent. The total general operating funds revenue collections year-to-date were $19.1 million and expenditures were $21.7 million. Ms. Duke said the total ending fund balance of general operating funds was $11.9 million, of that we have an unassigned fund balance of $5.9 million which is approximately 11.97% of our operating expenditures for the year. She explained that Special Revenue Funds were restricted funds that were dedicated for specific purposes. The 5 Mill Maintenance Fund had a deficit ending fund balance of ($775,000). The Ruston and Choudrant Maintenance & Operating Funds were running in the negative, which was normal for this time of year.
Ms. Duke explained that the health insurance fund was reported on a calendar year basis. Total contributions for the year were $13.7 million, total expenditures for claims were $10.8 million, and total expenditures for fixed administrative costs were $2 million. Claims costs were 5% lower than they were last year. The year ended with a positive balance in net assets of $515,000.
In a construction report, James Payton, New Construction Coordinator, narrated several pictures:
1. Work at the Choudrant Pre-K site had slowed down due to rain and cold weather. The bulk of the work right now was the laying of cinder blocks, which should be complete in a week. He called attention to the firewall that was required by the Fire Marshall. Metal flashing and rubber membrane would be installed between the new building and the old building as a safety feature to prevent any water from infiltrating the area. Wooden trusses for the roof would be installed next week. We are still on target to open in August when school starts.
2. A stop sign and gate have been added at the new Choudrant Elementary car line road. Parents continue to be appreciative of the new road that the Lincoln Parish Police Jury helped us build.
3. Simsboro School appreciates the parking lot that was recently completed.
Following a month of studying four policy revisions, Lisa Bastion, Assistant Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer, asked board members to approve the proposed changes to the policy manual.
Upon a motion Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to approve revisions to Tax and Bond Elections and Sales – DFD; Sexual Harassment – GAEAA; Dismissal of Employees – GBN; and Holidays – GBRL.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Milstead said:
1. School board member training for the annual required hours would be held on February 11; here at the school board office at 9:00 a.m. Attorney Jon Guice would conduct the training.
2. State Superintendent of Education John White has announced his resignation. March 11, will be his last official day in office. It is not clear when they will announce his replacement. It is the hope of several superintendents that the new State Superintendent be from Louisiana.
3. A CEA with the city related to the baseball and softball fields was signed last week. We now have a ten-year agreement with the city establishing the guaranteed exclusive use of the fields by Ruston High School from December to May each year. The agreement will be reviewed annually.
4. A copy of the STEM Center usage is in board members’ portfolios. One document lists the usage in January, the other lists the usage since the center opened. In January, there were 729 students, 16 volunteers and 60 hours volunteered at the Stem Center. The College of Education at Tech is requiring their education majors to volunteer at the center. All days in February except three are already booked. There are only 20 days left between now and the end of school that are not booked. Inclusion special education students are there quite often taking advantage of all the opportunities. The STEM Center is proving to be the success we thought it would be. Missy Wooley is doing a great job as the director.
5. A Letter of Invitation from the Caddo Parish School Board is also in board members’ portfolios. Legislators and BESE members are usually there as presenters. Anyone that is interested is welcome to attend.
After several comments, the meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. on a motion by Ms. Best.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Mike Milstead, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President