LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, March 5, 1991
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, March 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. Andy Shealy, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson, Mrs. Ann 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 Mr. George Mack.
Andrianne Buggs, student at I. A. Lewis School, was introduced by Mr. Tuten as a special guest. She led the board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. Following the pledge, Mr. Foster Harris, principal of I. A. Lewis School, told the board that Andrianne is an outstanding student and citizen at I. A. Lewis School and he shared some of her accomplishments with the board. Dr. Cobb then presented Andrianne with a certificate of appreciation from the Lincoln Parish School Board.
Mr. Tuten welcomed the press, staff and other guests who were present for the meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. David Wright, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted to approve as corrected the minutes of the Regular Session of February 5, 1991. The minutes were corrected to include the following request in the report of the Curriculum Committee:
"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."
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for the following insurance: Business Auto Vehicle, Property, School Board Liability including Errors and Omissions, Boiler and Machinery, and Comprehensive General Liability. Advertisement for bids for this insurance is done on a yearly basis. Renewal dates for all policies is July 1.
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Mr. George Mack, the board voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for the purchase of equipment, food, and supplies for use in the School Food Service Program in 1991-91.1 This also is done on a yearly basis.
Dr. Phil Rice, chairman, presented the report of the Finance Committee meeting and the following action was taken:
1. A proposed central office secretary salary schedule was presented to the board for their consideration. It was indicated that the schedule was a conversion of the recently adopted 10-month school secretary salary schedule to a twelve-month central office secretary salary schedule. It was pointed out that no salary would be lowered and ten central office secretaries would receive an average increase of $300 yearly for a total cost to the board of $3,211. Upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted to adopt the central office secretary salary schedule as presented by the Finance Committee.
2. Dr. Rice presented the second item for board consideration, dealing with bids for the construction of a synthetic track at Ruston High School. These bids had been taken under advisement at the last board meeting due to a need for additional information regarding the bids. Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent and Finance Committee, and upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to accept the low bid submitted by No Fault Industries in the amount of $66,800 for the construction of a synthetic track at Ruston High School. This will be funded by the Five Mill Fund. This bid in addition to the amount allowed for the asphalt base will keep us within the $100,000 allotment.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and dealt with the following personnel items as presented by Mr. Ron Suggs:
1. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Billie Brewer, teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary, effective May 31, 1991.
2. Upon a motion by Mr. David Wright, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted to grant leave without pay to Lindelle T. Weaver, music teacher at Ruston Jr. High/I. A. Lewis from March 1, 1991 through May 31, 1991. Ms. Weaver is requesting this leave in order to serve as a liaison between officers of the Caddo Parish Association of Educators, the membership, and the state office of the Louisiana Association of Educators.
3. Upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to employ the following teaching personnel:
a. Effie Evans as teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary to replace Laura Frazier who is on Sabbatical Leave. This is effective February 25, 1991.
b. Mary Griffin as kindergarten teacher at Hico Elementary to replace Sara Hollis who is on Leave Without Pay. This is effective February 15, 1991.
Mr. Charles Owens presented the next personnel agenda item and the following action was taken:
4. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted to employ Jerry Huey as bus driver in the Grambling District to replace George Hamlin, resigned. This is effective March 1, 1991.
Mrs. Brenda Theodos presented the School Food Service personnel recommendations and the following action was taken:
5. Upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted to accept the resignations submitted by SFS personnel as shown below:
a. Deborah Cannon as clerk at Hillcrest Elementary, effective February 22, 1991
b. Donna Lilley as clerk at Ruston Elementary, effective February 20, 1991
6. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Wayne Barfield., the board voted to approve employing the following SFS personnel:
a. Pamela Wisdom as SFS clerk at Hillcrest, effective March 1, 1991 to replace Debbie Cannon, resigned
b. Debbie Richardson as SFS clerk at Ruston Elementary, effective March 1, 1991 to replace Donna Lilley, resigned
7. Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to approve granting a leave without pay to Jean Stringfellow, cafeteria manager at Ruston High School, effective February 13, 1991 until March 15, 1991 due to health reasons.
The Sales Tax update for the month of February, 1991 was presented by Mrs. Pam Roy, accountant. She indicated that for the first time in 31 consecutive months, sales tax collections reflected a slight decrease. Collections for the month of February, 1991 were down 3.59% from collections for the month of February, 1990.
A Financial Report for the month of January, 1991 was given by Mrs. Roy. She indicated that the fund balances shown reflected collection of the majority of ad valorem taxes as of the end of January.
Mr. Charles Owens gave an update on the Jobs Opportunity Basic Skills Program (JOBS). He told the board that all families receiving aid for dependent children must be in job training or be in the process of acquiring either a high school diploma or a GED. As of this date, we have 29 participants in the Lincoln Parish JOBS Program housed at Lincoln Center with two sessions being taught. These sessions are taught for four hours each days or 20 hours a week. Lincoln Parish has the best participation out of the 10 parish area participating in this endeavor according to a report received from program administrators. Child care and transportation are provided for participants out of funds provided by this program. The fact that Survival Skills are taught was a special point of interest to board members. Mr. Owens indicated our goal is to serve a maximum of 140 participants in JOBS which is a Federal Program monitored locally by the Family Service Office.
An overview of President Bush's Fiscal Year 1992 Budget for School Food Service was given by Mrs. Brenda Theodos, School Food Supervisor. She told board members that there is a possibility that 6 cents per meal per paying student would be eliminated from the budget. This means that 6 cents will be taken from the 15 1/2 cents reimbursement that we are now receiving for each paying student in our system. If this happens, it would become necessary to increase lunch prices to offset this cut. Mrs. Theodos told board members that an increase in lunch prices means a decrease in participation and labor.
Mrs. Theodos reported to the board on the status of the Ruston Elementary lunch program. Due to extensive fire damage, the cafeteria is presently being renovated and hot lunches are satellited from Ruston High School cafeteria. She reported that this is working smoothly.
An update on Ruston Elementary cafeteria repairs was given by Mike Walpole, architect. He indicated that all major demolition has been completed and plans for renovating the cafeteria are complete. Construction will begin shortly with a projected completion date of August 1, 1991.
A recent meeting on reapportionment was reported on by Mr. George Mack, a member of the Lincoln Parish School Board serving on that committee along with members of the Lincoln Parish Police Jury. Mr. Mack indicated that this is still in preliminary stages. He gave some figures on ideal populations for each district and also on black/white ratios in different districts. Only a 5% deviation from the ideal population figure allowed for each district will be allowed by Federal guidelines. Final plans for reapportionment will reflect some changes in district lines.
The Louisiana School Boards Association Convention was held recently in Baton Rouge. Those attending from Lincoln Parish were Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. Jim Kessler, Ms. Ann M. Boyd, Mr. Paul Woodard, Mr. David Wright, and Superintendent Gerald Cobb. Each of these attendees reported to the board and expressed various comments and thoughts derived from attendance at this meeting.
Dr. Cobb presented an additional policy that had been revised due to legislation passed in the 1990 Louisiana Legislative Session dealing with Promotion of Teachers/Administrators. This revised policy required board action in order for it to be included in the Lincoln Parish Policy Manual. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted unanimously to formally approve, for inclusion in the Lincoln Parish School Board Policy Manual, the updated policy dealing with Promotion of Teachers/Administrators.
Mr. Jim Kessler spoke to the board briefly regarding a lease agreement that the school board entered into with the Village of Choudrant whereby a tract of land was donated to Choudrant for the construction of a sewerage treatment facility with the understanding that Choudrant Elementary School would be connected and given free service for the duration of the lease agreement. Mr. Kessler indicated that a progress update would be given at the April 2 board meeting.
In the Superintendent's Report, Dr. Cobb gave a status report on LaTip/LaTep and indicated that changes in this program will be announced in the near future.
Dr. Marty Beasley spoke to the board on the possibility of having a retreat for board members in the near future. Several members expressed interest in this possibility.
There being no further business, and upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted to adjourn at 7:30 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Allen Tuten, President