LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. at the STEM Center, 525 Tarbutton Road, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. Otha Anders, Ms. Donna Doss, Mr. David Ferguson, Dr. David Gullatt, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, Jr., Mr. Hunter Smith, and Ms. Susan Wiley.
Ms. Lisa Best was absent.
President Joe Mitcham called the meeting to order and welcomed visitors. Mr. Mack gave the invocation and Dr. Gullatt led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Doss, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Ms. Wiley, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on April 6, 2021, as presented. Upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Special Session held on April 13, 2021, as distributed.
Superintendent Ricky Durrett communicated that Choudrant Elementary Principal Charles Hogan will be retiring July 1, 2021. He introduced the five-member interview committee for the upcoming principal position. The committee consisted of Tony Antley, Angela Hoffman, Dr. Doris Lewis, Dana Talley, and John Young. Lisa Bastion, Asst. Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer, chaired the committee but did not vote. Mr. Durrett thanked them for their long days and hard work interviewing the eleven applicants. The committee’s unanimous recommendation for the principal position at Choudrant Elementary was Jennifer Martin. Ms. Martin has taught in Lincoln Parish for 18 years and started at Choudrant Elementary before moving to Glen View, to teach and has been the Coordinating Teacher for the last 6 years. He shared that she will be a great leader for the school. Ms. Martin thanked everyone for the opportunity and said she was excited to join the Choudrant community again. She is looking forward to working with the students, teachers, and other stakeholders to make the school even better than it already is.
Mr. Durrett voiced that the Administration had advertised and interviewed for a new Chief Administration and Operations Officer/Assistant Superintendent. Ruston Junior High Principal John Young will move into that position. Mr. Young was the I.A. Lewis principal for three years and has been the RJHS principal for the last three years. Mr. Durrett opined that there was no better person for the job. Mr. Young thanked Superintendent Durrett and the Board for selecting him for the position. He thanked his family and his staff at both I.A. Lewis and Ruston Junior High. Mr. Young said he was excited to get to work and he was looking forward to working with everyone.
Superintendent Durrett explained that Mr. Young relocating to Central Office would create an opening at Ruston Junior High. He shared that Ms. Keshia Douglas has been the I.A. Lewis principal for three years. She had also been an Assistant Principal at the Junior High for seven years prior to that. Mr. Durrett stated that Ms. Douglas has graciously agreed to return to Ruston Junior High School as Principal. He said she would do a terrific job. Ms. Douglas thanked Mr. Durrett for the opportunity and the Board for their support. She also thanked former Superintendent Mike Milstead for giving her the opportunity at I.A. Lewis. She added that it has been a wonderful experience and she is looking forward to returning to RJHS. Several board members congratulated the three on their new positions.
The following personnel items were shared by Dr. Doris Lewis, Director of Human Resources:
1. Administrative Points of Reference effective July 1, 2021:
John Young from Ruston Junior High to Chief Administration & Operations Officer/Asst. Superintendent at Central Office replacing Lisa Bastion who transferred;
Jennifer Martin from Glen View to principal at Choudrant Elementary replacing Charles Hogan who retired;
Keshia Douglas from I.A. Lewis to principal at Ruston Junior High replacing John Young who transferred.
2. Retirement of the following effective May 26, 2021, unless otherwise stated:
Deborah Lynch, teacher at Glen View;
Donna Lilley, secretary at Pupil Appraisal, effective November 24, 2021;
Lori Michelle Brown, secretary at Ruston Elementary, effective June 8, 2021;
Thomas Freeman, agriculture teacher at Ruston High, effective June 30, 2021;
Charlton Garrett, health & physical education teacher at Ruston High; and
Virginia Rainwater, secretary at Ruston High, effective June 8, 2021.
3. Resignation of the following effective May 26, 2021, unless otherwise stated:
Melissa Armstrong, teacher at Cypress Springs;
Jasmine Ayatey, teacher at Cypress Springs;
Adrianne Iannone, French Immersion teacher at LPECC; and
Amber Boykin, school psychologist at Pupil Appraisal, effective Jun 9, 2021.
4. Food Service Retirements effective May 25, 2021:
Jo Turner, cafeteria technician at Ruston Junior High; and
Charlotte Woods, cafeteria technician at Ruston Junior High.
Juanita Duke, CFO/Business Manager, reported sales taxes collected for the month ending April 2021, were up 73.8% compared to the same month last year. This was primarily due to remote sellers, the new sales and use tax, and an increase in industrial machinery purchases in the parish. Sales taxes collected year-to-date were up 28.6%. Excluding the new 2020 sales tax collections, the effective increase would be 40% for the month and 11.9% year-to-date.
Moving on to the financial statement for March 2021, Ms. Duke said the total General Fund balance was $7.7 million and about 60% of budgeted expenditures have been incurred for the year. The increase in sales tax collections for the year are evident in the higher fund balances in the Sales Tax Funds. She stated that the total unassigned fund balance in the General Operating Funds through the end of March was 27.58% of budgeted expenditures.
In the Health Care Fund report, Ms. Duke shared that the total plan expenditures year-to-date for the first three months of the year were at $3 million. Total contributions to the plan were $3.4 million and fund performance is parallel to the same period in the previous year.
Ms. Duke reminded the Board that a reduction was made in the May salary supplement check last year, for when supplements were paid in excess of available collections during recent years when sales tax collections declined. With the increase in collections this year, she was pleased to recommend an increase in the May supplement check of $273.00 for salaried certified employees and $136.50 for salaried support staff.
Upon a motion by Mr. Ferguson, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board voted unanimously to approve the payment of salary supplements on May 25, 2021, in the amounts of $5,298 to salaried certificated personnel and $2,649 to salaried support personnel.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Durrett said…
1. A form requesting information for the auditors had been placed in the board members’ portfolios.
2. As a point of reference, in January New Living Word declined equitable services for the rest of this school year and next school year. Materials and technology had to be collected and there were four items missing. These items were several years old
3. Due to summer camps being held at the STEM Center, the June and July board meetings will be held at the Central Office.
4. There are 840 pre-K through 8th grade students signed up for summer school. There will be 40 students at LPECC, 400 at Glen View, and 400 at Ruston Junior High. Once end-of-course (EOC) testing is complete, some students will undertake EOC remediation at Ruston High. ACT remediation will be offered in June and July to help students prepare for the ACT test. The goal is to make up any learning gaps caused by irregularities in instruction since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
5. The Eco-Car competition was cancelled last year due to Covid-19 and was to take place this year in San Francisco, which was also cancelled. A smaller competition was held in Kansas City, Missouri yesterday. One car finished fifth and another finished seventh out of twenty competitors.
6. We will have Jump Start Summer with Delta Community College this summer. There are about 26 students from Choudrant and Simsboro High Schools that will attend CNA classes to obtain certification. We have partnered with Delta because we do not teach CNA classes every year at those two high schools.
After comments from board members, upon a motion by Dr. Gullatt, the meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
______________________________ _______________________________
Ricky Durrett, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President