LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, April 6, 2021 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. at the STEM Center, 525 Tarbutton Road, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Ms. Lisa Best, Ms. Donna Doss, Mr. David Ferguson, Dr. David Gullatt, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Hunter Smith, and Ms. Susan Wiley.
Mr. Otha Anders was absent.
President Mitcham called the meeting to order and Mr. Hancock gave the invocation. Dr. Gullatt led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted by roll call to amend the agenda adding one item: 5.1 Recognize State Semi-finalist Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year and adopt the amended agenda.
Upon a motion by Ms. Abrahm, seconded by Ms. Wiley, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on March 2, 2021.
Mr. Brandon Sutherland, Communications Coordinator, communicated that the Lincoln Parish School system has some of the most remarkable students in the state and even the nation. He introduced Caleb Phillips who had been recognized in November as a National Merit Semi-Finalist and was here tonight to be recognized as a National Merit Finalist. Mr. Sutherland explained that approximately 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the National Merit Scholarship Program with the nationwide pool of finalist representing less than 1% of U.S. High School seniors. Eli Watson who was not able to attend tonight was recognized earlier in the school year as a National Merit Semi-Finalist and for making a perfect 36 on the ACT. He is now receiving recognition as a National Merit Finalist.
Mr. Sutherland next introduced Ruston High School senior Hana Le as a State Finalist for Louisiana Student of the Year. After sharing her many accolades, he said the state winner would be announced on April 21. Mr. Phillips and Ms. Le introduced and thanked their parents for their support. President Mitcham and Superintendent Durrett told both students how proud they were of their accomplishments and were sure they would continue great achievements in their future.
Mr. Sutherland communicated that not only does Lincoln Parish have phenomenal students; the district also has some of the top teachers and principals in the state. Courtney Martin, a Ruston High School teacher, has been recognized as a Semi-Finalist for Louisiana Teacher of the Year and Mary Wilks-Kilgore, principal of Cypress Springs Elementary, has been recognized as a Semi-Finalist for Louisiana Principal of the Year. He concluded by sharing that Lincoln is one of only three districts in the state of Louisiana that have a Student of the Year finalist, and a Teacher and Principal of the Year semi-finalist.
Missy Wooley, STEM Director, gave a brief report on upcoming STEM Summer Camps. A Game Design Camp will be offered June 1-3 for middle school and high school from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., at a cost of $25.00. Eight other camps will be offered from June 21 – July 29, broken down in various age groups. All the camps are $25.00 with the exception of Camp Invention, which is an all day camp for Kindergarten-2nd grade, which will cost $235. Camp fees will include a t-shirt and snacks and scholarships are available if needed. She said there would be a maximum of 10 students per camp due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The following personnel items were shared by Dr. Doris Lewis, Director of Human Resources:
1. Retirement of Charles Hogan, principal at Choudrant Elementary, effective July 1, 2021.
2. Retirement of the following effective May 26, 2021, unless otherwise stated:
Rachel Browning, English teacher at Choudrant High, effective June 9, 2021;
Sharon Petch, English teacher at Choudrant High;
Suzette Henderson, Library Media Specialist at Hillcrest;
Tammy Patterson, teacher at Hillcrest;
Melanie Lewis, Instructional Facilitator at I.A. Lewis;
Victoria Cherry, special education paraprofessional at LPECC, effective May 25, 2021;
Delena Ashworth, art teacher at Ruston High; and
Miriam Payne, Administrative Assistant at Ruston Junior High, effective June 9, 2021.
3. Resignation of the following effective May 26, 2021:
Karla Smith, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary;
Jeff Tucker, Behavior Counselor at Pupil Appraisal; and
Katherine Henriques, teacher at Ruston Elementary.
4. Point of Reference of Lamessia Williams, from Glen View to head custodian at Choudrant High effective March 8, 2021, replacing Jerry Cole who resigned.
Juanita Duke, CFO/Business Manager, reported March 2021 sales tax collections were up 41% compared to this month last year. Total year-to-date collections were 23.53% higher than collections at this time last year due to the new sales tax. Excluding the new 2020 sales tax collections, the effective increase would be 13.15% for the month and 8.79% year-to-date. The performance equivalent increase for the fiscal year-to-date stems from increased construction activity due to Hurricane Laura and new collections from internet sales through the Remote Sellers Commission.
In her financial update for the month ending February 2021, Ms. Duke reported the percentage of General Fund expenditures compared to budget is about 7% lower than this time last year. Expenditures overall have been down due to Covid-19. Ms. Duke called attention to the 2020 Sales Tax Salary Fund, which has a balance of $988,148 and is dedicated for salary supplements, with the first payment being a one-time payment in June according to the Board’s previous authorization. Total unassigned fund balance for General Operating Funds is 27.97% of budgeted expenditures compared to 24% this time last year. Sales Tax Fund balances were increasing slightly due to the increase in collections. The M & O funds are currently showing positive balances due to annual property tax collections.
Ms. Duke reported on the Health Insurance Fund, stating that expenditures continue to increase for the first two months of the year compared to the last calendar year. Expenses are up about $580,000. Total net drawdown of our net assets in the Health Insurance Fund for the first two months of the plan year was about $308,000.
James Payton, New Construction Coordinator, narrated several photographs and gave the following construction update:
1. The asphalt at the entrance to the Choudrant Athletic Complex was breaking apart. This has been repaired with the help of the Police Jury. They provided the labor and equipment and the school board paid for the cost of the asphalt.
2. The Simsboro Athletic Complex fencing is complete. It changed the whole appearance of the complex and looks great.
3. Preliminary construction has begun at the Eco-Car building. It is being built on the northeast corner of the RHS campus close to the Ag building. It will be 40x60 with one classroom, a restroom, and the rest will be open area for the students to work on the Eco-Cars. The projected completion date is July 30.
4. The storage area for the RHS Ag building has only had a chain-link fence as a closure for the area. It will now be enclosed by a wall, 10 ft. door, and a walk-through door. This will help keep materials and supplies protected from the weather.
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 Ms. Henderson, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for the purchase of duplicating paper, dust mop rentals, and gasoline and diesel for the 2021-2022 school year.
Superintendent Durrett shared that the town of Simsboro is working on a grant proposal to drill a new water well. The well needs to be a specific distance from the water tower and from houses. The school board owns land behind the baseball field that is not being used and there are no plans to use the land. We would like to enter into an agreement with the town of Simsboro that would allow them to drill the well. The new water well would be very similar to an existing, fenced-in well on the playground at Simsboro School. The Board would still own the property and the town of Simsboro would fence the area where the well will be located. The new well would benefit the school and the town. Dr. Gullatt echoed Mr. Durrett’s comments.
Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Ms. Doss and Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to authorize the President of the Board and the Superintendent to execute a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the town of Simsboro regarding a new water well.
Ms. Duke stated that in 1999 the School Board entered into a cooperative endeavor agreement with five school districts for programming services to maintain and continue using the current UNIX-based financial and payroll system. The UNIX programming language is not a current industry standard, and there are compatibility issues in running the software on newer hardware/servers. She said it is time to update to a Windows-based or a newer software platform that has more functionality and can communicate with other data systems. The current cost is approximately $25,000 annually; she estimates the new system would be $30,000-40,000 for annual support and maintenance.
Upon a motion by Ms. Doss, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to seek proposals to purchase new financial accounting and payroll software for business operations, and for administration to bring a recommendation back to the Board for approval.
Because of the vital role of school bus operators, food service employees, custodians, secretaries, clerical personnel, teacher aides, bus aides, maintenance technicians, paraprofessionals, and others that are vital to the efficient operation of our school system, Mr. Edmiston recommended that the Board adopt a Resolution designating April 19-23, 2021, as Support Personnel Week. Mr. Edmiston read the resolution in full.
Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the following:
RESOLUTION
That the Lincoln Parish School Board designate the week of April 19-23, 2021, as Support Personnel Week in Lincoln Parish and copies of this Resolution be sent to each school in Lincoln Parish and also made a part of the official minutes of the Lincoln Parish School Board.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Durrett said:
1. Congratulations to the Simsboro boys’ basketball team who won another Class B State Championship this year. They did a great job.
2. We will be having a live Job Fair April 27 at the STEM Center from 4:30-6:30 for prospective teachers.
3. Summer school work applications will go out tomorrow for teachers to apply to work this summer. This will be on a voluntary basis.
4. Our summer work hours will be Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m., at all schools and the central office. There is much work to be done to get ready for the opening of school.
5. We are in the process of participating in the Strong Start Systems Pilot. We are one of 10 districts that were chosen to participate. State Superintendent Brumley specifically chose our district. This will be a 3-5 year plan for school improvement. It will be good for the district to develop a strategic plan, looking at our strengths and weaknesses and aligning our resources to strengthen the areas where we are weak. He will be coming back to the Board in May or June with more information. He mentioned that Ms. Doss was working with them. The end goal will be good for the district.
6. Choudrant High School’s graduation will be May 17 and Simsboro’s will be May 20. Both graduations will be held at Howard Auditorium and plan to allow 10 tickets to each student. Ruston High School’s graduation will be May 18 on the RHS football field and plan to allow six tickets per student. We hope to increase those numbers if restrictions change.
7. There are seven weeks of school left and testing will start soon. We feel like students will do well and look forward to getting test results.
After comments from board members, upon a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Ricky Durrett, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President