LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, July 11, 2023 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Parish School Board Office, 410 S. Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were Mr. Otha Anders, Mr. Clark Canterbury, Ms. Donna Doss, Mr. Danny Hancock, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Gregg Phillips, Mr. Hunter Smith and Dr. Danielle Williams.
Ms. Debbie Abrahm, Mr. David Ferguson, and Ms. Lynda Henderson were absent.
President Joe Mitcham called the meeting to order and welcomed guests. Dr. Williams delivered the invocation, and Mr. Phillips led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Mr. Anders, seconded by Mr. Canterbury, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Ms. Doss, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on June 6, 2023, as presented.
Following a month of studying a policy revision, John Young, Assistant Superintendent, asked board members to approve the proposed revision to the policy manual.
Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Smith, the Board unanimously voted to approve the revision of GBA – Contracts and Compensation.
Board members were asked by Mr. Young to study the following policy manual revisions in preparation for the next meeting: BCBI – Public Participation, and JGCD – Administration of Medication. He reported that the first revision allows the use of comment cards for public input on agenda items. The second revision allows the use of naloxone (Narcan) for use on campuses in the event of an opioid emergency. Only individuals trained in its use can administer the medication. The Board was asked to review these policy revisions with formal action to be taken at the August 2023 meeting. Mr. Bob Hammonds, Board attorney, pointed out that the use of comment cards is growing rapidly in the state among school boards, and this method has been found to be a very effective way to organize meetings, and make sure everyone who wants to speak has the opportunity to do so. Following questions from the public, Dr. Williams requested that we look into using BoardDocs in addition to posting agendas prior to meetings. Mr. Hammonds reminded the Board that this was an informational item only and may be subject to comment at the next meeting.
Juanita Duke, Chief Financial Officer, presented a request to distribute a one-time retention and recruitment stipend to eligible employees with Education Stabilization Funds awarded through ESSER grants. New employees hired on or after July 1, 2023, would receive a one-time recruitment payment and returning employees who remain employed through September 1, would receive a one-time retention payment. The proposed amounts are $1,200 for full time certified/professional staff, $600 for full time support staff, and $480 for part-time support staff. The September recruitment payment will be conditional upon continued employment for the remainder of 2023-2024. Additional eligibility guidelines, including timely completion of required trainings, will be applied consistent with the previous year’s distribution. Dr. Williams asked for clarification on each of these employee classifications, how these amounts were determined, and why this item did not come before the finance committee. Several questions followed from members of the public. Ms. Duke reminded the Board that this stipend is being funded by federal funds approved for this purpose, and there are certain guidelines that must be met in order for this type of payment to be made available to employees.
Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to approve the distribution of the one-time recruitment and retention payment to employees who meet the qualifications set forth.
Superintendent Durrett told the Board that the City of Ruston has requested a Servitude Donation to extend an existing water line located on School Board property to serve Tanyard Creek Subdivision. The proposed location of the water line will be approximately 50 feet in length and is located between Cypress Springs School and Lincoln Council on Aging. This is an extension of an existing water line and will not interfere with school property.
Upon a motion by Ms. Doss, seconded by Mr. Smith, the Board unanimously voted to grant the servitude to the City of Ruston and authorize Superintendent Durrett to execute the Servitude Donation.
The following personnel items were shared by Dr. Doris Lewis, Director of Human Resources:
1. Resignation of the following effective May 27, 2023, unless noted otherwise;
Makayla Fuller, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary;
Krystin Bruno, teacher at Hillcrest Elementary;
Patrick Wright, science teacher at I.A.Lewis School;
Aude De La Perrelle, French Immersion teacher at Ruston Elementary;
Kenya Morris, math teacher at Ruston High;
Lacey Peters, art teacher at Ruston High;
Ross Wiersma, health & physical education teacher/coach at Ruston High;
Timothy Hancock, agriculture teacher at Ruston High effective July 8, 2023;
Lauren Barnes, Spanish teacher at Ruston High; and
Mariana Raborn, science teacher at Ruston Junior High.
3. Employment of the following effective July 31, 2023, unless noted otherwise:
Aubrey Simmons, school psychologist at Pupil Appraisal, replacing Ashley Sandino who resigned;
Chasity Livingston, school secretary at Ruston High, replacing Charlene Flucas who retired;
Lindsey O’Neal, school counselor at Ruston High, replacing Erin Henderson who was reassigned;
Heather Kelly, school secretary at Ruston High, replacing Jan Martin who retired;
Adam Wodach, social studies teacher/coach at Simsboro School effective July 17, 2023, replacing Matthew Herring who was reassigned; and
Shonnette Roach, school secretary at Simsboro School, replacing Mary Durrett who was reassigned.
4. Point of Reference of the following effective July 17, 2023, unless noted otherwise:
Brandy Roberson, from health and physical education teacher at Ruston Elementary to health and physical education teacher/coach at Choudrant High, replacing Geoff Underwood who was reassigned;
Shadd Pittman, from special education teacher at Ruston Junior High to social studies teacher/coach at I.A. Lewis, replacing Pamela Touchstone who was reassigned;
Roy Taylor, from social studies teacher at Ruston High to health and physical education teacher/coach at Ruston High, replacing Ross Wiersma who resigned;
Jonathan Milstead, from agriculture teacher at Ruston Junior High to agriculture teacher at Ruston High effective July 1, 2023, replacing Timothy Hancock who resigned;
Erin Henderson, from school counselor at Ruston High to school counselor at Ruston High effective July 31, 2023, replacing Kay White who retired;
Shelby Creel, from English teacher at Ruston Junior High to school counselor at Ruston Junior High effective July 31, 2023, replacing Jamie Nichols who transferred;
Jamie McCullin, from agriculture teacher at Ruston High to agriculture teacher at Ruston Junior High effective July 1, 2023, replacing Jonathan Milstead who transferred;
Matthew Herring, from social studies teacher at Simsboro School to health and physical education teacher/coach at Simsboro School, replacing Randall Carlisle who resigned; and
Mary Durrett, from school secretary at Simsboro School to bookkeeper at Simsboro School, replacing Cindy Horton who resigned.
5. Retirement of Margaret Spivey, bus operator, effective December 22, 2023.
Ms. Duke presented a sales tax report for June of 2023. She said that actual June 2023 collections are up 6%, compared to June 2022 receipts. Collections fiscal year-to-date represents 104.49% of collections received in 2021-22 for an overall increase of 4.49% in collections for 2022-23 at this date. Total audit recoveries for the fiscal year are approximately $241,000, a 96.98% increase over the previous fiscal year.
Mr. Durrett updated the plan for a Diversity Committee, which will be chaired by Lincoln Parish Schools gifted art teacher, Reggie McLeroy, along with Phaedra Blake, Glen View principal and Mandy Brown, Ruston Elementary principal. Each Board member will recommend someone from their respective district to serve on the committee. This committee will meet quarterly and then report back to the Board whenever necessary. Mr. Mack asked for clarification on what kind of committee this would be and why no board members were on the committee. Mr. Hammonds said that this would be an ad hoc committee that will be able to make recommendations to the Board.
Doc Hoefler, Transportation Supervisor, shared with the Board a plan for possible changes to bus schedules in an effort to improve bus routes and shorten the amount of time students are riding buses each day. After looking and studying this, a plan was formulated in conjunction with Louisiana Tech University’s engineering department to improve this situation. Hoefler presented several examples of how this plan could be utilized.
Next Daryl Savage, Technology Facilitator, gave the Board an update on Jump Start Summers. He told the Board that we had 42 students participate this summer, compared to only 4 students last summer. These students participated in Certified Nursing Aide, Emergency Medical Responder, HVAC, Heavy Equipment Operator, and Welding. These students earned Industry Based Credentials, which will give them the ability to easily go to work in their respective fields, and a stipend for completion of the program.
Dana Talley, Chief Academic Officer reported to the Board that we have received unofficial high school LEAP 2025 results, but are still waiting on summary reports from the LDOE. She said that overall we are moving in the right direction. With that said, we have a few places where we need to dig in and find some solutions. Our goal by 2026 is that all grades and subjects have a proficiency of 55% or higher. She then shared some preliminary high school results for the six courses that students take for the LEAP 2025.
In English I we are trending up and are above pre-pandemic levels. The assessment index has gone from 73.6 in 2019 to 87.5 in 2023. Proficiency has gone from 44.4% to 60.3%. The percent of students scoring at the Advanced and Mastery levels is up and the percent of students scoring at the Unsatisfactory level is down.
Although our assessment index dropped slightly in English II from 2022 to 2023, proficiency increased. Overall, we are trending up and are above pre-pandemic levels. The assessment index has gone from 77.4 in 2019 to 83.4 in 2023. Proficiency has gone from 50.9% to 60.3%. The percent of students scoring at the Advanced level is down, Mastery level is up, and Unsatisfactory level is up.
A great deal of time and resources were put into improving Algebra I this year. We have a new curriculum and our math facilitator taught Algebra I at RHS so she was able to work very closely with the other Algebra I teachers. We are trending up and are above pre-pandemic levels and the assessment index has gone from 62.2 in 2019 to 82.1 in 2023. Proficiency has gone from 42.3% in 2019 to 57% in 2023. The percent of students scoring at the Advanced and Mastery levels is up and the percent of students scoring at the Unsatisfactory level is down.
Ms. Talley indicated that Geometry is the place we need to focus on this year. Although we improved from 2022 to 2023, we are not yet back to pre-pandemic levels. The assessment index has gone from 87.3 in 2019 to 74.9 in 2023. Proficiency has gone from 51.0% in 2019 to 44.4% in 2023. The percent of students scoring at the Advanced and Mastery levels is up, but the percent of students scoring at the Unsatisfactory level is up as well.
Biology is trending up and we are above pre-pandemic levels. The assessment index has gone from 50.0 in 2019 to 67.4 in 2023, with proficiency going from 27.8% in 2019 to 37.9% in 2023. The percent of students scoring at the Advanced level is down, but Mastery levels are up, and Unsatisfactory level is down.
Lastly, Ms. Talley said that we are trending up in US History and are above pre-pandemic levels in assessment index, but not proficiency. The assessment index has gone from 63.1 in 2019 to 64.6 in 2023, and proficiency has gone from 34.8% in 2019 to 34.7% in 2023. The percent of students scoring at the Advanced level is up, but the percent of students scoring Mastery and Unsatisfactory are down.
Mr. Canterbury made a motion to go into Executive Session at 7:31 p.m. to discuss a personnel matter. Mr. Smith seconded the motion which passed by a unanimous vote.
Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Phillips, the Board unanimously voted to return to Open Session at 8:20 p.m.
In a Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Durrett said that:
1. A Nepotism Disclosure Form has been placed in the board members portfolios, as well as a list of retirees from the 2022-23 school year.
2. A list of board meeting dates for this year are in board member portfolios. Note that the October, January and April meetings will be held at noon. We will be at Dubach School in October, Glen View Elementary in January, and Simsboro School in April. This will give an opportunity to see what is going on at these schools.
3. Board member training is set for July 25 at the STEM Center from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with Jon Guice.
4. Krystal Guillory was recognized by the National Federation of the Blind as the Louisiana Blind Educator of the Year. She does an excellent job for Lincoln Parish Schools and her students.
In closing, Mr. Durrett called attention to the list of retirees as follows:
NAME LOCATION YRS IN LINCOLN TOTAL YRS
Tony Antley Choudrant High School (Principal) 32.5 32.5
Angela Hoffman Simsboro School (Elementary Director) 21 33
Kay White Ruston High School (School Counselor) 23.1 32.1
Ramona Adams Cypress Springs Elementary (Teacher) 25 28
Tracy King Simsboro School (Teacher) 23 30
Stanley Lewis I. A. Lewis School (Teacher) 18 22
Robbie Williams Hillcrest Elementary (Teacher) 6 11
Mary Woodard I. A. Lewis School (Teacher) 29.5 29.5
Kim McCormack Central Office (Executive Assistant) 27.5 27.5
Kathy Pool Central Office (Asst. Business Manager) 18 28
Penny Boyd Hillcrest Elementary (Para-Professional) 21 21
Debra Upshaw Cypress Springs Elem (Para-Professional) 34 34
Charlene Flucas Ruston High School (Secretary) 34 34
Sharon Marshall Cypress Springs Elem (Secretary) 25 25
Janet Martin Ruston High School (Secretary) 28 28
Ronnie Holloway Transportation (Dubach bus operator) 5 5
Billy Jarmon Transportation (Ruston bus operator) 15 15
James Johnston Transportation (Choudrant bus operator) 6 23
Kenneth Slocum, Jr. Transportation (Simsboro bus operator) 16 16
Vickie Green Cypress Springs Elem (Food Service) 11 11
Patsy Lewis Cypress Springs Elem (Food Service) 25 25
Maurice Briggs Ruston (Maintenance Craftsman) 31 3
After several comments from Board members, upon a motion by Mr. Phillips, seconded by Mr. Smith, the meeting adjourned at 8:23 p.m.
__________________________________ ___________________________________
Ricky Durrett, Secretary Joe E. Mitcham, Jr., President