LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, April 14, 2020 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. Due to Governor John Bel Edwards’ “Stay-at- Home” order, the meeting was held remotely via the video conferencing app Zoom. The meeting was streamed live on Facebook. An email address was provided for viewers to send questions or comments. Members attending remotely were Mr. Otha Anders, Ms. Lisa Best, Ms. Donna Doss, Dr. David Gullatt, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, Jr., Mr. Hunter Smith, and Ms. Susan Wiley.
Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. Danny Hancock, Mr. David Ferguson, and Ms. Lynda Henderson were absent when the meeting began.
President Mitcham called the meeting to order, and the invocation was given by Ms. Doss. Mr. Mitcham led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. He explained that all motions and votes would have to be made by roll call. He stated that if the public had a question or comment during the meeting, it could be emailed to Kim McCormack and gave her email address.
Mr. Mitcham said it was time to approve the agenda but Item 7.1 needed to be re-worded. It had been confusing in its present wording. The wording had been changed to read as follows, Consider Adoption or Rejection of a Resolution to Approve Industrial Tax Exemption Application #20190276-ITE $39,132,544.00 – Raeford Farms of Louisiana, Simsboro, LA.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Mr. Smith, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to amend agenda Item 7.1 changing the wording to what Mr. Mitcham previously read.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Mr. Anders, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to adopt the agenda as amended.
Ms. Lynda Henderson joined the meeting at 6:24 p.m.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Doss, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on March 3, 2020, and the Special Called Session held on March 17, 2020, as printed.
The following personnel item was shared by Dr. Doris Lewis, Director of Human Resources:
1. Resignation of Sonya Boatner, bus operator in the Ruston area, effective January 10, 2020.
Juanita Duke, CFO/Business Manager, reported March 2020 sales tax collections were down 6.62%, compared to this month last year. That was approximately a $77,000 decrease due primarily to the continued drop in oil and gas exploration sales tax receipts. Total year-to-date collections were ½% higher than collections at this time last year. Gains to this point have been erased due to the Governor’s Stay-at-Home order, closing all but essential businesses. We expect collections to continue to decline with restaurants and local businesses closed.
In her financial update for the month ending February 2020, Ms. Duke communicated that the total operating expenditures to date were $32,213,000 and total revenues collected to date were $35,566,000. Currently the ending fund balance in the operating funds was $17.8 million; this was approximately 24% of operating expenditures. This is above the 10-15% range that the Board needs to maintain for bond ratings. The M & O funds were showing positive balances due to property tax collections.
Ms. Duke was pleased to share the Health Care Fund was showing gains due to moving retirees 65 years and older to the Medicare Advantage Plan. Total collections/contributions to date were $2.2 million and total administrative fixed costs were $604,000 for the first two months of the year. This is about 73% or $255,000 higher than last year at this time. However, claims expenditures were 77% down, or $398,000 compared to this time last year. The net asset balance in the Health Care Fund was $492,000 for the month ending February 2020.
Following a month of studying one policy revision, Lisa Bastion, Assistant Superintendent/ Chief Academic Officer, asked board members to approve the proposed changes to the policy manual.
Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Dr. Gullatt, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to approve revisions to Testing Program – II.
Ms. Duke explained that Raeford Farms of Louisiana, LLC has requested an Industrial Tax Exemption on the investment of $39.1 million to construct a new feed plant in Simsboro. Raeford Farms is proposing 13 new jobs and an annual payroll of $548,800. The exemption would be for 5 years at 80% exemption of taxable assessed value, with an opportunity to renew the exemption for an additional 5 years at 80% as well. She spoke today with Don Pierson, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. He shared his understanding of the difficulty of conducting a 12-member board meeting virtually. Because of this, Mr. Pierson said LPSB could request an extension, which we did today. The deadline to act on this application was originally April 24, with the Governor’s order in place we technically have until April 30.
Just before the meeting, we received confirmation from Mr. Pierson that the Board of Commerce and Industry are constitutionally the only entity that can waive or extend the deadline. The C&I Board has a meeting planned for April 22, with the intent of extending all deadlines for 30 days, which would be May 24. This extension would insure that we have all the information we need to make a good decision, give the board members more time to study the item, and have a regular meeting where board members can communicate better.
Due to the request for an extension, Ms. Duke informed the Board that they have the option to defer and take no action on this item tonight and we can reschedule until a later date, hopefully at the regular May meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Wiley, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to table Item 7.1, Industrial Tax Exemption Application #20190276-ITE-$39,132,544.00, until a later date that cannot be determined at this time.
In order to comply with state law, Mr. Ricky Edmiston, Supervisor of Auxiliary Services, voiced the annual request for permission to advertise for bids on materials and supplies for schools with an aggregate cost of $30,000 or more.
Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to grant permission to advertise for bids for the purchase of duplicating paper, dust mop rentals, and gasoline and diesel for the 2020-2021 school year.
Ms. Bastion stated that due to the immediate necessity of the revision of Board Policy EBBD – Emergency Closing of Schools, the Board is being asked to temporarily suspend Board Policy BD – School Board Policy, and then immediately approve the revision of EBBD – Emergency Closing of Schools. The policy revision provides guidance to include “infectious diseases” when school closure is necessary. It also addresses procedures for closing schools and addresses declarations of emergencies for when and if employees are expected to be at work.
Mr. Ferguson joined the meeting at 6:43 p.m.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Ms. Henderson, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to temporarily suspend Policy BD- School Board Policy, which requires the introduction of policies and revisions at one meeting and approval at the next and approved revisions to EBBD – Emergency Closing of Schools.
Mr. Edmiston shared that bids were opened on March 25, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., at the Lincoln Parish School Board office. Insight, Inc. of Ruston submitted the only bid for $66,175.00.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Mr. Smith, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to accept the bid of $66,175.00 from Insight, Inc. to replace old bleachers at I. A. Lewis School with new ones.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Milstead said that:
1. The Governor has indicated that all Louisiana schools will remain closed for the remainder of the school year. This was anticipated and we feel like that is the best move. However, the educational process continues, school will not end until May 21. We are remaining in touch with our teachers, and our teachers are remaining in touch with their students. Teachers are using both on-line tools and paper copies for distance teaching.
2. All scheduled graduations have been postponed. Our goal is to have live graduation ceremonies possibly in June. If that is not possible, we have reached out to Louisiana Tech regarding a space to have ceremonies at a later date.
3. We are reaching out to all seniors and their parents to inform them of our plans as we move forward. We are also informing them what students will need to do to graduate.
4. We are asking all of our individuals that have budgets to defer all non-essential purchases until a later date. That includes the maintenance and operation funds, funds spent will be for necessities. We are going to be as frugal as we can moving forward.
5. Meals will continue to be provided for our students. Meal pickup on Mondays provides breakfast and lunch for Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday’s pickup provides breakfast and lunch for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Meals will be provided through May 20. School Food Service employees have been real heroes through this process. Harryette Tinsley, School Food Services Supervisor, has done a super job of making this happen.
6. A significant decline in sales tax receipts is anticipated due to businesses being closed. Those sales tax dollars impact four funds. Revenues from the 1967 tax fund pay for a portion of salary supplements, a portion of single health insurance, and a portion of retiree’s insurance premiums. Two-thirds of the 1979 sales tax fund is dedicated for salary improvements, that fund will be impacted. The 1993 sales tax fund pays a salary supplement to employees that is included in their regular check. The 2000 sales tax fund is used to pay a salary supplement to employees in November and May, there is no doubt this fund will be impacted. These are just a portion of what these funds pay for. All of these funds are directly related to the salaries and expenses we provide for our employees. Going forward we need to keep this in mind as we will have some very tough decisions to make.
7. Supervisors met recently to discuss several strategies. Several of the topics discussed were staffing changes, how we will arrive at grades for students at the end of the year, and should any students be retained. Also discussed were the logistics of students cleaning out lockers, teachers cleaning out their classrooms, and how report cards will be sent out. The March ACT was cancelled. There is a make-up test date set for June, but many students may wait until the October test date since they will have been out of school for 2 ½ months. There was also discussion on how the maintenance and transportation departments could cut costs. There are many decisions to be made. We are confident that decisions will be made in the best interest of our students.
8. We will make sure that our children are getting our best effort for the remainder of the school year. Even though the Governor has closed schools through the end of the year, we will continue to educate our students to the best of our ability. We will be even better when the pandemic is over.
After comments from the media and board members, upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, the meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Mike Milstead, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President