LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, October 1, 1991 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 1, 1991 at 6:00 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, Dr. Phil Rice, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. 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. Tuten called the meeting to order and Mrs. Loyace Braggs gave the invocation. Following the invocation, Mr. Tuten welcomed the guests and members of the staff and media who were present.
Tiffany Hargrove, a hearing impaired student from Glen View Elementary School, was introduced to the board by Mr. Randy Moore, principal. She was warmly received by members of the board and, with assistance from her teacher, Mrs. Kathy Shipp, Tiffany led the board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. Following the pledge, Dr. Cobb expressed his appreciation to Tiffany and presented her with a certificate from the Lincoln Parish School Board.
Upon a motion by Mr. David Wright, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to approve, after correction, the minutes of the Regular Session held on September 3, 1991.
Special recognition was given at this time to Lincoln Parish Teacher of the Year winners for 1991-92. Following remarks from the Superintendent, Mr. Danny Bell, Supervisor, presented the teachers to the board and gave a brief summary of each teacher's accomplishments. The following teachers were presented with plaques from the Lincoln Parish School Board:
Millie B. Hooper - Elementary Teacher (Cypress Springs)
Lisa S. Taylor - Jr. High Teacher (Ruston Jr. High School)
Marilyn O. Hyams - High School Teacher (Choudrant High)
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and addressed the following personnel items:
Mr. Ron Suggs presented the following personnel items for the board's consideration.
1. Upon a motion by Mr. David Wright, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to accept the letter of resignation submitted by Hilda Taylor Perritt as English teacher at Ruston High School, effective September 3, 1991.
2. Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted to grant the request for a Sabbatical Leave for rest and recuperation for the 1991-92 school year submitted by Beverly Slocum, academically gifted teacher at A. E. Phillips/Hillcrest Elementary, effective September 23, 1991. Appropriate medical documentation has been submitted.
3. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to employ Nicole Howard as a teacher aide at Lincoln Center to replace De'Marion McKinney, resigned. This will be effective September 23, 1991.
Mr. Charles Owens presented the following recommendation:
4. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted to accept the resignation submitted by Randi Harris as custodian at Glen View Elementary, effective September 10, 1991.
5. As a point of reference, Mrs. Theodos informed the board that Ernestine Spearman, clerk/technician at Ruston Jr. High School, had requested that she be transferred back to a technician position and Charlotte Martin, technician at Ruston Jr. High, had transferred to the clerk/technician position. Mrs. Theodos presented the following SFS personnel recommendations:
6. Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted to accept the resignation submitted by Vicky Bowden, clerk at Hillcrest Elementary School, effective September 6, 1991.
7. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted to employ Charisa Barrett as clerk at Hillcrest Elementary, effective September 6, 1991.
8. As a point of reference, Mr. Suggs indicated that Kathy Guice, Special Education teacher at Hillcrest, will transfer to Pupil Appraisal as assessment teacher, effective September 30, 1991.
9. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann Boyd, the board voted to employ Jena Love as Special Education teacher at Hillcrest Elementary to replace Kathy Guice, transferred, as presented by Mr. Suggs.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and addressed the single Finance Committee agenda item as follows:
Benice McGee, Supervisor of Finance, introduced Mr. David Wolf, bonding attorney from Foley and Judell in New Orleans, who came before the board to explain the status of the proposal to refund Ruston School District No. 1 General Obligation Bonds. He indicated that the amount of savings first anticipated did not materialize with the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority (LPFA) Program. He explained the different methods of selling bonds and he further indicated that it was his recommendation that since favorable market conditions do exist at this time, he would recommend that if we desire to refund Ruston School District No. 1 bonds, we should take sealed bids to sell the bonds at a competitive price.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously, 12-0, on a roll call vote to authorize the advertising for sealed bids for the purchase of not to exceed twelve million, five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) of General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, Series 1991, of Ruston School District No. 1 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, and providing for other matters in connection therewith.
Superintendent Gerald Cobb presented an informational update the Louisiana 2000 education program. He indicated that this was President Bush's education program which had been adopted by Governor Roemer for the State of Louisiana. Governor Roemer asked that each local school system establish a parish advisory team consisting of six members and a chairman. Lincoln Parish's committee and the goals they will address are as shown below:
CHAIRMAN: Mr. Fred Higginbotham
1. Dr. Catheryn Weitman Goal 1: All children will start to school ready to learn.
2. Mrs. Elizabeth Green Goal 2: The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent for all groups.
3. Ms. Ann M. Boyd Goal 3: All students will leave grades four, eight, and twelve having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning and productive employment in our modern economy.
4. Mrs. Earlene Strother Goal 4: U. S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement.
5. Mr. David Wright Goal 5: Every adult American will be literate and possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
6. Mrs. Elaine Levy Goal 6: Every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.
A follow-up report will be given after the state meeting to be held on October 14 in Alexandria.
A report on the state School Incentive Program from the Children's First Act was given by Ron Suggs. He told the board that all of our schools are near the top in achievement and are consistent in the entire K-12 curriculum. Indication was given that much improvement is needed in this program before it can be given complete validity. Dr. Cobb pointed out that consistency in presenting scores is the key to fairness.
A report on Sales Tax receipts and also a financial update was presented by Benice McGee. She told the board that sales tax receipts for September, 1991 reflected an increase of 9.7% or $20,948. This was an excellent report, however; she indicated that retirement contributions are continually increasing and continue to be a financial drain on us.
The new breakfast program that was recently begun in all Lincoln Parish Schools was reported on by Brenda Theodos, Supervisor of Child Nutrition. She indicated that the participation rate was 48% after a month in operation. At this point, things are progressing smoothly. Classes are beginning on time and buses are running in a timely manner as usual. Dr. Cobb expressed his appreciation to Mrs. Theodos and to all personnel for the tremendous amount of work and cooperation that has gone into introducing this program into the schools. He further pointed out that this is not a program introduced by the Lincoln Parish School Board but is a federally mandated program.
Danny Bell, Supervisor, introduced Sandra Powell, an elementary teacher at Simsboro, who has recently been named as parish coordinator for a new program in the parish school system--a parish-wide spelling bee. This program is sponsored by the Ruston Daily Leader. As Mrs. Powell told the board, this program is a self-esteem builder in children. Local spelling bees will be held at all elementary grades, 4-8, followed by a parish-wide bee. The winner of the parish bee will represent Lincoln Parish at the national bee. The board received this information with enthusiasm and interest and expressed their appreciation to Mrs. Powell for her willingness to get this program underway. Follow-up information will be given at a later date.
Mr. George Mack, Chairman of the Lincoln Parish School Board Reapportionment Committee, gave the report from a recent joint meeting with members of the Lincoln Parish Police Jury Reapportionment Committee. That committee asked that Mr. Ken Selle, demographer with Tri-S, compile the additional information requested by the Justice Department in their communication which stated that the reapportionment plan approved and submitted by the School Board and the Police Jury in June, 1991 was not approved, pending submission and acceptance of additional documents and information. A lengthy period of discussion by board members was held at this time. Mr. Mack indicated that a followup report will be presented to the board as it becomes available.
Upon a motion by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to accept for inclusion in the Lincoln Parish Policy Manual the revised policy entitled: Supplementary Instructional Materials Selection MEDIA UTILIZATION.
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Dr. Phil Rice, the board voted, upon a recommendation by Mr. Danny Bell, Supervisor of Elementary Programs, to accept the bid submitted by Brodart for library books for Lincoln Parish Schools in the amount of 27.5% single flat discount.
In the Superintendent's Report, Dr. Cobb dealt with the following:
1. Increase in employee contributions to Teachers' Retirement in order to fund a cost-of-living raise for retirees. This has been mandated by the Louisiana Legislature.
2. Dr. Cobb told the board that Choudrant handled the tragic incident involving the near-fatal stabbing of a Choudrant High School student on campus in a superb fashion. He extended congratulations to Mr. Crawford, his staff, and the student body for the excellent manner in which this was handled.
At this point, Mr. Kessler spoke of his appreciation also and Dr. Beasley expressed appreciation for the support of the blood drive for this student.
It was reported to the board that the young man is progressing well and will be back in school shortly.
3. Dr. Cobb indicated that we have had out-of-state officials who came to Lincoln Parish School System to observe our computer assisted labs. He commended Mr. Washington and his work with these labs.
4. He reminded board members of the Academic Awards Banquet to be held on Monday, October 21, 1991.
5. Each board member received a SACS summary from Ruston High School's evaluation
6. He announced that the next board meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 1991 at Ruston Elementary School.
Following comments and observations of board members, the board voted to adjourn at 7:50 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Allen Tuten, President