LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, July 2, 1991 6:30 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, July 2, 1991 at 6:30 P.m. in the Board Room of the Lincoln Parish School Board Office, 410 South Farmerville Street, Ruston, LA. Members present were Mr. Allen Tuten, president; Dr. Phil Rice, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Andy Shealy, Mr. James R. Kessler, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson, Ms. Ann M. Boyd, Mr. Paul Woodard and Mr. David Wright.
Absent: None
Mr. Allen Tuten called the meeting to order and welcomed the guests and members of the media and staff who were present. The invocation was given by Mr. Wayne Barfield.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann Boyd, the board voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on June 4, 1991.
Upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board voted to amend the agenda to delete one item of discussion dealing with the cost of school lunches for 1991-92 and also to move the request to pursue the possibility of refunding Ruston School District #1 General Obligation School Bonds to the first item of business.
Mr. David Wolf, bond attorney with the firm of Foley and Judell in New Orleans, came before the board to address the possibility of refunding the bonds. He explained that refunding would allow a reduction in millages due to the lower interest rate which would result in a substantial saving for the school district. He indicated that the lowest interest rate and the lowest transaction cost would be the most advantageous to us. The one variable in the companies submitting proposals for refunding the bonds is the underwriters' fee or transaction cost. After a lengthy discussion, Mr. Wolf indicated that it was his recommendation that the board proceed at this time with the possibility of refunding the bonds.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Dr. Phil Rice, the board voted unanimously, by roll call vote, to adopt a resolution authorizing the issuance of not exceeding $12,500,000 of General Obligation School Refunding Bonds of Ruston School District No. 1 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana (the "Issuer"), to refund certain outstanding general obligation bonds of the Issuer; making application to the State Bond Commission for approval of the General Obligation Refunding Bonds; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.
Mr. Danny Bell presented a request to submit the Pupil Progression Plan for Lincoln Parish, 1991-92 to BESE for approval. He gave a brief update and explanation on the purpose of the Pupil Progression Plan. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Mr. Jim Kessler, the board voted to approve submitting the updated Pupil Progression Plan for 1991-92.
Upon a motion by Mr. David Wright, seconded by Ms. Ann Boyd, the board voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for the rental of dust mops for the 1991-92 school year, as presented by Mr. Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Programs.
Upon a motion by Mr. Wayne Barfield, submitted by Mr. George Mack, the board voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for the purchase of gasoline and diesel for the 1991-92 school year, as presented by Mr. Charles Owens.
The report of the Personnel Committee was given by Mr. Andy Shealy, chairman, and the following action was taken:
1. Mr. Shealy presented Dr. Cobb's recommendation to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Mr. Dwight Mitchell, Supervisor of Transportation/Child Welfare and Attendance. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board voted, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent and the Personnel Committee, and by a 11-0 vote, to appoint Mr. Richard Hinton to fill that position, effective July 8, 1991.
Abstaining: Mr. David Wright
2. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, and upon the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, the board voted to accept the letter of Intent to Retire submitted by Virginia Selle, Supervisor of Special Education, to be effective June 30, 1991.
Following board action on Mrs. Selle's retirement, Dr. Cobb presented her with a plaque of appreciation and expressed his sentiments, along with those of the board, for her many contributions to the Lincoln Parish School System and his appreciation for her years of dedicated service.
3. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, and upon the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, the board voted to accept the letter of Intent to Retire submitted by Lenora D. Miller, English teacher at Choudrant High School, to be effective May 31, 1991.
4. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Dr. Phil Rice, and upon the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, the board voted to accept the letters of Intent to Resign submitted by the following teaching personnel:
a. Mary Jane Lewis as itinerant elementary art teacher at Choudrant Elementary/Hico/Simsboro Elementary to be effective May 31, 1991
b. Sue David as French teacher at Choudrant High School to be effective May 31, 1991
c. Mackie Buckelew as elementary physical education teacher at Glen View to be effective May 31, 1991
d. Dan Grantham as coach/social studies teacher at Simsboro High School to be effective May 31, 1991
5. Mr. Shealy presented the following two requests for Leave-Without-Pay for the 1991-92 school year:
a. Betty Johnson, teacher at I. A. Lewis, requested an additional year of Leave-Without-Pay for 1991-92 in order to complete pursuit of a doctoral degree. It was pointed out that this request, if granted, would total three and one/half years of leave that Ms. Johnson has been granted. The Personnel Committee's recommendation on this request was that the board deny Ms. Johnson's request for a full year of leave but grant her an additional one/half year if she so desires. This would total three (3) years of leave that Ms. Johnson would receive consecutively or the maximum number of years that the Committee felt that the board should grant for educational pursuits in order to comply with the precedent that has been established in the past.
b. Gloria Gaudet, teacher at Simsboro, requested a Leave-Without-Pay for 1991-92. This request, if granted, would total one and one/half years of Leave-Without-Pay that Mrs. Gaudet has been granted. It was the Personnel Committee's recommendation that the board deny Mrs. Gaudet's request for a full year of leave but grant her an additional one/half year if she so desires. This would give her a full year of Leave-Without-Pay or the maximum established as a precedent in the past other than that used for educational pursuits.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board, upon the Personnel Committee's recommendation, agreed that both requests were in excess of previously established precedents and voted to grant one-half year additional leave in each of the above requests. This action would give each teacher the maximum allowed years of leave according to circumstances surrounding their requests.
6. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board, upon the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, voted to approve employing the following teaching personnel:
a. Greg Cole as elementary teacher at I. A. Lewis, effective August 21, 1991, to replace Curley Bordelon, retired
b. Oscar Epps as elementary teacher at I. A. Lewis, effective August 21, 1991, to replace William Rutledge, retired
c. Nancy Diaz as French teacher at RHS/RJH, effective August 21, 1991, to replace Annie Norris, resigned
d. Kerry Merritt as math teacher/coach at RHS effective August 1, 1991, to replace James Barker, who is on Sabbatical Leave
e. Marcus Young as social studies teacher/coach at Simsboro High School, effective August 21, 1991, to replace Dan Grantham, resigned
7. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board, upon the Personnel Committee's recommendation, voted to accept the letter of Intent to Resign submitted by Jean Stringfellow, manager of the Ruston High School cafeteria, effective May 30, 1991.
8. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board, upon the Personnel Committee's recommendation, voted to employ Maurice Briggs in general maintenance at the central office in an existing position that has been vacant.
9. The revised Annual Leave policy was presented for the board's consideration. Changes in the policy were deemed necessary in order to correct some existing problems. The revised policy would eliminate the discretionary portion of leave days that are requested from the board due to extenuating circumstances. Any 12-month employee, under the revised policy, could request 25 days of Annual Leave per fiscal year. Any Annual Leave over 25 days may be used in lieu of Sick Leave provided that two (2) doctors agree to this if the board so desires. The revised policy does not limit the accumulation of Annual Leave days.
The Personnel Committee recommended that it should be clearly stated and understood that the only circumstance in which days past the allowed 25 per fiscal year would be considered would be illness.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board, upon the Personnel Committee's recommendation, voted to adopt the revised Annual Leave policy.
At this time, Dr. Cobb requested that the board grant permission to advertise for the Supervisor of Special Education position. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Ms. Ann Boyd, the board voted to grant permission to advertise for applicants to fill this position.
A financial update for May, 1991 was given by Pam Roy, accountant for Lincoln Parish Schools.
Following the financial update, a report on sales tax receipts for June, 1991 was presented. This report reflected an increase of $24,384.14 or 11.9% over the previous month's receipts.
Dr. Cobb gave a report on test scores for Lincoln Parish Schools. He indicated that, as stated in the media, "Throughout Northwest Louisiana, Lincoln Parish once again boasted the highest percentage of pupils who passed the exams, although some parishes surpassed it on individual grade levels. In each area, 90 percent or more of the pupils passed." This was an excellent showing by Lincoln Parish and the board expressed their pride and appreciation in the good work being done in the Lincoln Parish School System.
Plans for the upcoming Lincoln Parish Administrators' Workshop on July 22-25 were given by Ron Suggs. Some of the items to be addressed will be an update on PRIDE, CCC Labs, Test Dates for 1991-92, Remediation Program, Goals for School Improvement, LASE, the Alternative Program and other topics.
Dr. Cobb expressed his appreciation to Danny Bell, Supervisor, for his excellent work with fourth grade teachers this past year in improving our parish California Achievement Test (CAT) scores.
A report on Summer School and Driver Education was given by Ron Suggs. He indicated that approximately 90 students are participating in Summer School which is being held at Ruston High School with Danny Garbarino as principal. Driver Education is underway with 177 students enrolled and Tommy Hay directing.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted to accept the low bid that met specifications on milk, ice cream, bread and chips for the School Food Service Program for 1991-92, as presented by Brenda Theodos, School Food Service Supervisor for Lincoln Parish Schools. The bid accepted for milk was with the descalation clause.
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to accept the low bid for cleaning supplies for School Food Service for 1991-92, as presented by Brenda Theodos.
The board reviewed the revised policy dealing with Expulsion for its inclusion in the Lincoln Parish Policy Manual. Upon a motion by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted to adopt the revised policy with the last paragraph amended to read as follows: "The Board shall also mandate expulsion of a student found in possession of a knife which equals or exceeds two (2) inches in length and other applicable considerations in accordance with Act No. 620, 1990 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, L.S.A. R.S. 17:416.11
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Dr. Phil Rice, the board voted to adopt the following resolution commending Lincoln Parish teachers, principals, and students on the outstanding test scores recently received. Copies of this resolution will be sent to all teachers and administrators.
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Lincoln Parish public school teachers, principals, and students are working more effectively than ever before, achieving dramatic gains in scores on the state LEAP Test, the national California Achievement Test and gaining recognition for outstanding achievement for our school system; and
WHEREAS, this academic achievement has been accomplished because of an outstanding faculty, school leadership, and student effort; and
WHEREAS, these personnel of the Lincoln Parish School System work diligently to meet the needs of our students and state; and
WHEREAS, the core of any good instructional program takes place in the classroom and at the school site.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the Lincoln Parish School Board expresses its appreciation to the faculties, administration, and students of the Lincoln Parish Public School System for their outstanding academic achievements.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That this resolution be sent to each teacher in the Lincoln Parish Public School System and also made a part of the official minutes of the Lincoln Parish School Board.
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The board considered renewal of the Policy Updating Service for 1991-92 as presented by Dr. Cobb. Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to renew contract for 1991-92 at a cost of $1435.
Dr. Cobb gave his report to the board at this time. Some items he dealt with were the Ruston Jr. High School weight room, administration at Ruston Jr. High School for the upcoming school year, and he also told the board that the next meeting was scheduled to be held on August 6.
Following brief comments by several board members, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 P.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Allen Tuten, President