LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. at 410 South Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. Otha Anders, Ms. Lisa Best, Mr. Clark Canterbury, Ms. Donna Doss, Mr. David Ferguson, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Hunter Smith, and Ms. Susan Wiley.
President Mitcham called the meeting to order and welcomed guests and media. Mr. Hancock gave the invocation. Mr. Mitcham led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Ms. Doss and Ms. Wiley, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on November 1, 2022, as distributed.
Following a month of studying two policy revisions and one new policy, John Young, Assistant Superintendent, recommended board members approve the proposed changes to the policy manual.
Upon a motion by Ms. Doss, seconded by Ms. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to approve revisions to IDDFC – Cameras in Special Education Classrooms, GBRIB – Sick Leave; and to add policy EBCB – Video Monitoring of School Board Property to the policy manual.
Superintendent Ricky Durrett stated the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) with the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce expires on December 31, 2022. He said that the Chamber is very involved in supporting Lincoln Parish Schools and asked the Board to adopt this Cooperative Endeavor Agreement for the year 2023.
Upon a motion by Mr. Ferguson, seconded by Mr. Canterbury, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.
Juanita Duke, Chief Financial Officer, shared with the Board that she would like to request proposals for the purchase of Interactive Digital Playgrounds which would be funded with carryover Title I funds. This innovative technological system is used to complement the health and physical education curriculum while embedding other cross-curriculum content in its applications.
Upon a motion by Ms. Henderson, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to authorize administration to request proposals for the purchase and installation of Interactive Audio-Visual Digital Playground System at Lincoln Parish K-6 Title I Schools.
Mr. Durrett reminded the Board that board members are required to complete six continuing education hours annually because of Act 705 of the 2010 legislative session. An additional responsibility has been imposed by revised statute 43:1170, requiring elected officials to receive a minimum of one hour of education and training on the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act during each term of office. Finally, a press release providing the training status of each member must be published in the official journal each year. Mr. Durrett asked for permission to publish the board members' 2022 training hours; all twelve board members met or exceeded the minimum requisite.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Ms. Best, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to enter board members' 2022 training certificates into the official minutes of the Board.
Ms. Duke requested the Board authorize a Health Plan Dependent Eligibility Audit. The School Board’s consultant, Brown and Brown, has recommended on several occasions that a self-audit be conducted of dependents (spouse and children) enrolled in the self-insured health plan. In order to enroll dependents, there are certain documentation requirements that must be provided in order to verify that a dependent is actually eligible. Our current health plan has been in place for 33 years and we have not had an audit prior to this recommendation. She requested the Board authorize a self-audit to be conducted of dependent eligibility for its health plan and grant permission to the Superintendent to select a firm and execute any agreements or documents necessary for the work to begin.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to authorize a Health Plan Dependent Eligibility Audit.
Dr. Doris Lewis, Director of Human Resources, communicated the following personnel changes:
1. Resignation of the following:
Haley McHale, Library Media Specialist at Choudrant Elementary, effective November 19, 2022; and
Cole Sonnier, social studies teacher at Simsboro School, effective November 8, 2022.
2. Employment of the following:
Amanda Hansen, social studies teacher at Simsboro School, effective November 28, 2022, replacing Cole Sonnier who resigned; and
Tracey Morgan, Speech Therapist at Hillcrest Elementary, effective January 4, 2023, replacing Emily Moore who resigned.
3. Retirement of Kenneth Slocum, Jr., bus operator, effective November 6, 2022.
4. Resignation of Jarvis Spivey, custodian at Choudrant High, effective November 19, 2022.
5. Employment of Ryan Booker, custodian at Choudrant High, effective December 5, 2022, replacing Jarvis Spivey who resigned.
Ms. Duke reported sales tax collections for the month of November were up 12.8% over this month last year mainly due to one-time collections received from the Remote Sellers Commission for a sales tax amnesty program. Total collections for the fiscal year were up 3.7% overall.
In the monthly financial report for October, Ms. Duke stated the ending General Operating fund balance is $27 million, with the undesignated fund balance portion being $16.8 million, which is 29% of total budgeted operating expenditures for the year. Total ending fund balance combined for all funds is $43 million, which includes our Special Revenue Funds for which those balances are restricted for specific purposes according to grant and tax authorizations.
Moving on to the Health Insurance Fund report for October, Ms. Duke reported a positive change in net assets of $97,837 for the month. Total year-to-date plan expenses are $10.9 million, which is approximately $300,000 less than the previous year’s total expenses for the same period.
Dana Talley, Chief Academic Officer, reported on School and District Performance Scores for the 2021-2022 school year. She compared scores for 2019, 2021, and 2022 (there were no scores in 2020). The majority of our schools improved. Two schools moved up a letter grade, while two schools declined a bit. Ruston Elementary, Choudrant Elementary, Ruston High, and Choudrant High received a Top Gains Honoree Award, and Ruston High and Choudrant High received the Opportunity Honoree award. The entire district is moving in the right direction.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Durrett said:
1. Our schools are moving in a great direction with test scores and we are excited about what our elementary schools are doing. If we can grow elementary schools, then junior high and high schools will follow. We appreciate the principals and teachers who have worked so hard, and the support from our community and parents.
2. Ruston High School is playing in the state championship game on Friday night and we wish them good luck and congratulate them on a great season. It has been encouraging seeing all our elementary schools and even outlying schools getting involved and supporting the players and coaches. Our parish is in a great place right now with academics, as well as athletics. We made the decision to close the entire district Friday, December 12, so that all can travel to New Orleans for the championship game.
3. CDL training for bus drivers is taking place at the STEM Center this week. There are about 25 enrolled and we hope to have new bus drivers soon.
4. Susan Wiley has served as a board member for eight years and we thank her for her service and all that she has done to promote our schools and help our students. In addition, Lisa Best has served on the board for twenty-two years and we appreciate all she has done for our district, our schools and students.
5. Kim McCormack is retiring after working for the parish for 27 years. She is such an asset and we appreciate her and wish her luck in her retirement.
Mr. Mitcham also thanked Ms. Wiley and Ms. Best for their service. In addition, he thanked Ms. McCormack for her service and presented a gift from the board members. Upon a motion by Ms. Best, the meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Ricky Durrett, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President