LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

Ruston, Louisiana

SPECIAL CALLED SESSION

Thursday, June 27, 2024  11:00 a.m.

The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Special Called Session on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. in the Board Room of the Lincoln Parish School Board Office, 410 South Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana.  Members present were Mr. Otha Anders, Mr. Clark Canterbury, Ms. Donna Doss, Mr. David Ferguson, Mr. Danny Hancock, Ms. Lynda Henderson, Mr. George Mack, Jr., Mr. Gregg Phillips, Mr. Hunter Smith, and Dr. Danielle Williams.

Ms. Debbie Abrahm and Mr. Joe Mitcham were absent.

President Gregg Phillips called the meeting to order, Mr. Hancock gave the invocation, and Mr. Smith led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.

Mr. Phillips introduced LEAN Frog Consulting Chief of Staff/Lead Consultant, Chasitie White, who reported to the Board on a recent study the firm was hired to complete for Lincoln Parish School Board.  She said the study had concluded and then shared with the board the findings and recommendations.

Ms. White said that overall Lincoln Parish is competing very well against peers and in the market when you look at total compensation.  Competitive compensation is provided for employees, but certain inequities have created disadvantages for some support staff.  When compared to all 10 peer districts reviewed, Lincoln Parish teacher pay is competitive and within the top 3 districts at starting pay.  Substitute pay is below average.  Total compensation for most full-time support staff is above average, but the pay schedules for many of these positions only allow for salary growth of 10% or less throughout a career.  She added that leadership titles are not indicative of level of responsibility, and each position has a unique supplement amount.  Over time, in order to attract and retain Maintenance staff, LP has used necessary discretion and paid Maintenance employees differently than the job descriptions and skill requirements for the schedule indicate.  When compared to market, pay schedules are significantly lower than required for the skill levels.

Recommendations from the LEAN Frog study included updating support salary schedule methodology to be more standardized, continue 13th and 14th checks but include the majority of the check amounts in monthly regular pay, conduct an Organizational Review to review each department’s performance, staffing, etc., and increase substitute pay to compete with peer rates.

Assistant Superintendent John Young presented the 2024-2025 Employee Job Descriptions for approval.  He said that policy GBB-Personnel Positions states that the Superintendent shall maintain a comprehensive and up-to-date set of job descriptions for all positions in the school district.  These job descriptions shall be kept on file and utilized in conjunction with the performance evaluation plan for employees.  This provides a formal notification to the Board that job descriptions have been set.  He added that these job descriptions comply with the requirements of ACT 311 of the 2024 Regular Session of the Legislature.

Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Hancock, the Board unanimously voted to approve receipt of employee job descriptions for the 2024-2025 school year.

Chief Financial Officer Juanita Duke asked the Board to review and consider two options for 2024-2025 Salary Schedules for all certified and support employees and 2024-2025 Pay Rates for all hourly and substitute employees.  She said that two options were being presented, both of which include an increased daily rate of pay for substitute teachers and address the requirements of ACT 311 which was approved during the 2024 Regular Session of the Legislature.  Both options establish that additional compensation shall be paid to a teacher who is not afforded minimum uninterrupted planning time required by Louisiana R.S. 17:434(A), and establish a uniform supplemental pay schedule that specifically addresses compensation for certified employees who perform duties beyond the scope of their prescribed duties and responsibilities specifically identified in the employee’s job description.

Option 1 maintains salary table structures and sales tax distribution amounts for the monthly supplement, November and May salary supplement checks that were approved in the 2023-2024 Salary Schedules.

Option 2 includes recommended changes based on the LEAN Frog District-Wide Compensation analysis, integrating skill level increments tables into applicable base salary tables for Business, Child Nutrition, Custodial, Maintenance, Paraprofessional, and Transportation tables.  In addition, this option increases the monthly sales tax supplement amounts for salaried support and certified employees by reducing the November and May sales tax supplement amounts to provide for a higher monthly salary amount to full-time staff.  The total estimated amount of sales tax to be paid remains the same.  Discussion followed by board members and it was noted that this change would become effective July 1, 2024.

Upon a motion by Mr. Hancock, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board voted 5-4 with one abstention to approve Option Two to provide salaried employees with increased monthly earnings and incorporate skill increments in support salary schedules.

Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Ms. Doss, the meeting adjourned at 12:42 p.m.