LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, February 5, 1991 6:15 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, February 5, 1991 at 6:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Lincoln Parish School Board Office, 410 South Farmerville Street, Ruston, Louisiana. Members present were: Mr. Allen Tuten, Dr. Phil Rice, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. S. Andy Shealy, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson, Ms. Ann M. Boyd, Mr. Paul Woodard, and Mr. David Wright.
Absent: None
Mr. Allen Tuten, president of the board, called the meeting to order and the invocation was given by Dr. Marty Beasley.
He welcomed the guests and members of the press and staff who were present.
Mr. Tuten then called on Mr. Howard Whitlock, principal of Ruston Elementary School, to introduce a very special guest present for the meeting--Michael Durham. Michael is a fifth grade honor student and outstanding citizen at Ruston Elementary School who was selected to lead the board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. He was warmly received by members of the board and presented with a certificate of appreciation by Superintendent Cobb on behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board.
Upon a motion by Mr. George Mack, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session of the board held on January 23, 1991.
At this time, Mr. Tuten called on Dr. Cobb to give special recognition and presentations to some very special guests. Dr. Cobb presented each of the following Ruston High School AAAA Allstate football players with a plaque of appreciation for their contributions to the program at Ruston High School. Those receiving plaques were:
Roymon Malcolm - Sportswriters' Allstate
Coaches' Allstate
Brad Laird - Sportswriters' Allstate
Composite Academic Allstate
Nick Nelams - Sportswriters' Allstate
Andrew Jacobs - Sportswriters' Allstate
Charles Green - Sportswriters' Allstate
Rodney Young - Sportswriters' Allstate
Coaches' Allstate
Bobby Williams - Sportswriters' Allstate
Terence Hicks - Coaches' Allstate
Brian Mason - Coaches' Allstate
Ryan Dick - Composite Academic Allstate
Following these presentations, Dr. Cobb introduced each of the Ruston High School football coaches and presented them with a plaque of appreciation for their dedication and many contributions to the program at Ruston High School. These coaches are:
Billy Gillum
Greg Williams
Ken Lantrip
Mark Kavanaugh
Jimmy Blackwell
Randy Peters
Rodney Southern
Perry Myles
James Barker
Special recognition was given to Coach Jimmy R. "Chick" Childress, head football coach at Ruston High School for the past 12 years. During this time Ruston won the Louisiana AAAA football championship in four of those 12 years: 1982, 1986, 1988 and 1990. Coach Childress spoke to the board and expressed his appreciation to the board and staff for their support. He paid special tribute to the football players present. Coach Childress received a standing ovation from all those present.
Upon a motion by Mr. David Wright, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted unanimously to grant permission to sent Letters of Intent to all teaching personnel for the 1991-92 school year. Mr. Suggs spoke to this request and indicated that this information will be used in planning for the 1991-92 school year.
The Curriculum Committee met on Monday, February 4, 1991 at 3:30 p.m. and the following report from that meeting was given to the board by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, chairperson:
1. Upon a motion by Ms. Ann Boyd, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley and upon the recommendation of the Curriculum Committee, the board voted unanimously to revise the Pupil Progression Plan to eliminate the Gates-MacGinitie Readiness test from our program. This test had been used in the past to aid in determining the pass/failure of a kindergarten student. Our kindergarten testing program will be updated, tying it in with the elementary curriculum and current testing program.
2. A second item addressed by the Curriculum Committee dealt with elementary libraries and librarians. After a lengthy period of discussion, the Curriculum Committee, since funding is not available at this time to employ full time librarians, reported to the board that it was the consensus of that committee that librarians are doing an adequate job on a part-time basis and they should continue utilization of volunteer help in the libraries as long as it is under their direct supervision. It was also the recommendation of the Curriculum Committee that part-time librarians be asked to submit a copy of their weekly work schedules to members of the Curriculum Committee to be reviewed.
The Finance/Building and Grounds Committees met jointly just prior to the board meeting. The following report was given by Dr. Phil Rice. chairman of the Finance Committee:
Bids for the construction of an all-weather track at Ruston High School were received and opened. After review by the joint committees, they recommended that the bid for construction of the asphalt base for synthetic track at Ruston High School be accepted. Upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted unanimously to accept the bid submitted by Lincoln Asphalt Paving, Inc. for construction of the asphalt base for synthetic track at Ruston High School. This bid was in the amount of $40.00 per base ton with a total bid of 500-900 tons ranging from $20,000 - $36,000.
Upon the recommendation of the superintendent and the committees, bids for surfacing the synthetic track will be taken under advisement for further study.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following personnel items were addressed:
1. Mr. Suggs presented the Letter of Intent to Retire submitted by William J. Rutledge. Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted unanimously to accept the Letter of Intent to Retire submitted by William J. Rutledge, teacher at I. A. Lewis School, effective June 1, 1991.
2. A request for Leave-Without-Pay submitted by Sara Hollis, teacher at Hico Elementary, was presented by Mr. Suggs. Mrs. Hollis has requested this leave in order to give the extra attention and care required by her special needs child at this time, as indicated by supporting medical documentation. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted to grant this Leave-Without-Pay to Sara Hollis, teacher at Hico Elementary, for the period of time from February 4, 1991 to May 31, 1991 in order that she might be better able to meet the special needs of her child.
The Sales Tax update for January, 1991 was given by Benice Holloway, Supervisor of Finance for Lincoln Parish Schools. She indicated that for the 31st consecutive month, sales tax collections had shown an increase. January reflected a 13.5 % or $36,460.86 increase giving a year-to-date increase of 7.4 %.
Ms. Holloway then presented the Financial update for the month of December, 1990.
An update on Health and Dental Insurance was given by Mrs. Pam Roy. Total revenues and expenditures were reviewed and the ending fund balance on December 31, 1990 was shown to be $977,570 in the health fund and $35,464 in the dental fund for a total fund balance of $1,013,034. The Lincoln Parish School Board participates in a self-funded health and dental program and the board members expressed their pleasure over the good report given. Mrs. Roy gave an update on the Worker's Compensation Trust Fund which is also self-funded. She gave total revenues and expenditures including claims paid and indicated that the ending fund balance as of December 31, 1990 was $138,965. This was another excellent report.
Fourteen hundred kindergarten and first grade students enjoyed performances of Little Red Riding Hood on January 25. This was a presentation by Louisiana Tech University and was held at Ruston High School. Mr. Suggs commended Danny Bell and Dwight Mitchell, central office supervisors, who were instrumental in organizing and coordinating this effort, along with all other central office supervisors.
Mrs. Becky Rich, Home Economist with the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, was present for the board meeting. She thanked the board for their continued support of this program and gave a brief update on the programs being implemented in Lincoln Parish. She also introduced Mrs. Cathy Judd, home economist/4-H agent for Lincoln Parish. Mr. Ron Adams, the new county agent as of February 4, was unable to be present due to illness. Also unable to be present was Mike Burns and Mrs. Donna Moore, District Agent. Several board members spoke on behalf of 4-H work in Lincoln Parish and stressed the benefit received by those students participating.
At this time, Dr. Cobb presented policies that have been revised due to legislation passed in the 1990 Louisiana Legislative Session and require board action in order for these to be included in the Lincoln Parish Policy manual. This policy update service is provided by Educational Management Services. The following policies were revised:
Debt Limitation
Separation of Professional Staff Members
Classified and Support Personnel Employment
Substitutes for Support Personnel
Truancy
Discipline
Expulsion
Student Health Services
Immunizations
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted unanimously to formally approve, for inclusion in the Lincoln Parish School Board policy manual, the updated policies with the understanding that the update service would be asked to study further the policy pertaining to EXPULSION and expand it to include possession of knives.
Mr. Tuten addressed some of the resolutions to be considered at the upcoming Louisiana School Boards Convention to be held in Baton Rouge February 21-22, 1991. Resolutions to be considered for presentation to the 1991 Legislative Session include those dealing with salary increases for support personnel, increased transportation operational expenses, Minimum Foundation Program funding formula, increased funding for textbooks, funding for elementary counselors and librarians and a number of others. Board members attending the convention were asked to study these closely and select those that they felt were the most important and encourage LSBA to present the top priority resolutions to the legislature for consideration.
In the Superintendent's Report, Dr. Cobb addressed the following items:
1. He called the board's attention to a letter of appreciation sent to Dwight Mitchell and Wilson Boyette for help in providing bus transportation and assisting in the evacuation of the North Louisiana Rehabilitation Hospital as a result of a bomb threat.
2. He also called their attention to the Friday Night Prime Time Reading Party for 4th, 5th and 6th grade students to be held at Simsboro School. Ms. Cheryl Garner, teacher at Simsboro School, has been instrumental in planning and organizing this effort.
3. An update on an accident involving a student being discharged from a Lincoln Parish school bus was given to the board. Dr. Cobb reported that a six year old boy sustained a broken leg when struck by a car as he was attempting to cross the street after leaving the school bus. Dr. Cobb issued a statement encouraging the public to please be aware of being very careful to give school buses proper respect as they are carrying a most precious cargo--our children.
Due to the Louisiana School Board Convention being held the same week as the board meeting, the board, upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, voted unanimously not to hold a second board meeting in the month of February. The next scheduled board meeting will be held March 5, 1991.
Mr. Jim Kessler spoke to the board regarding comments made during our January 5, 1991 board meeting. He indicated that those comments had continued to bother him and he felt that he must express himself and his views to the board. Mr. Kessler indicated that he would at all times view all school board situations and business on merit rather than race. Both Mr. George Mack and Mr. Calvin Wilkerson made brief comments and explanations to the board.
Upon a motion by Mr. David Wright, seconded by Dr. Phil Rice, the board voted to adjourn at 7:25 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Allen Tuten, President