LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, December 3, 1991 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, December 3, 1991 at 6:00 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, Ms. Ann M. Boyd, Mr. Paul Woodard and Mr. David Wright.
Absent: None
Mr. Tuten called the meeting to order and Mr. Andy Shealy gave the invocation.
Mr. James Pilgreen, principal of Hico Elementary School, introduced Tinker Dyes, fifth grade student who attends Hico Elementary, to the board. Mr. Pilgreen indicated that Tinker is an honor roll student who is hard-working and considerate of others. He described him as an "All-American young man." Following the introduction, Tinker led the board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag after which Dr. Cobb presented him with a certificate of appreciation from the Lincoln Parish School Board.
Mr. Tuten welcomed guests, and members of the staff and media who were present.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. George Mack, the board voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on November 5, 1991.
Special recognition was given to Dwight Tindall, a Ruston High School student, who was present at the meeting. Also commended was Clarence Hicks, Jr. and Regiuel Days, students at Grambling High School. Dwight Tindall, introduced by Mr. Danny Garbarino, was recognized as a semi-finalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Program for Outstanding Minority Students. Ms. Leona Ford, counselor at Grambling High School, gave a brief background on Clarence Hicks, Jr., semifinalist, and Regiuel Days, who was commended. Both of these students also participated in the National Achievement Scholarship Program for Outstanding Minority Students. On behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board, each of these students received a certificate of appreciation for their outstanding achievements.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following personnel items were addressed:
1. Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Cobb, voted to accept the Letter of Resignation submitted by Danny Garbarino, principal at Ruston High School, effective January 6, 1992.
Mr. Garbarino was present and expressed his appreciation to members of the board for their support and also for the opportunity to serve as principal at Ruston High School as well as in other capacities for the past 15 years. Mr. Tuten, speaking on behalf of the entire board, expressed appreciation for the fine job that Mr. Garbarino has done and wished him well in his future endeavors.
2. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Cobb, voted 11-0 to approve the following interim appointments to serve for the second semester of the 1991-92 school year:
a. Fred Higginbotham to serve as interim principal at Ruston High School for the remainder of the 1991-92 school year, effective January 6, 1992.
b. Greg Williams to serve as interim half-time assistant principal at Ruston High School, effective January 6, 1992. He will continue in his coaching position at Ruston High School.
c. James Meadors to serve as interim half-time assistant principal at Ruston Jr. High School, effective January 6, 1992. He will continue in his coaching position at Ruston High School.
Abstaining from the vote: Mr. Calvin Wilkerson
3. Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to grant the following requests for Sabbatical Leave for the second semester of the 1991-92 school year, as presented by Ron Suggs:
a. Vicki Allen, 1/2 time music teacher at Choudrant Elementary, requested a Sabbatical Leave for the second semester of the 1991-92 school year to become effective January 21, 1992.
b. Steve Hammons, Social Studies teacher at Ruston High School, requested a Sabbatical Leave for the second semester of the 1991-92 school year to become effective January 21, 1992.
4. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted to approve employing the following personnel, as presented by Ron Suggs:
a. Deborah Seal as Special Education teacher aide at Lincoln Center in a new position, effective November 18, 1991
b. Lisa Sampson as Special Education teacher aide at Cypress Springs to replace Lowlette Evans, resigned. This is to be effective November 12, 1991.
5. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Wayne Barfield, the board voted to approve employing Jeff Camp as bus driver in the Ruston District to replace Bud Barmore, who is on leave-without-pay for the 1991-92 school year, as presented by Richard Hinton. This is to be effective November 12, 1991.
In response to questions from board members regarding some of the needs, concerns, and future directions that the board needs to follow, Dr. Cobb presented detailed information on Louisiana School District Statistical Profiles and highlighted comparisons of salaries, sales tax, size of the school system, the amount of property and its value in a school system. He pointed out to the board that the factor which determines the inequity in salaries results from the amount of local supplement paid. This varies from almost nothing to up to $12,000 plus a year in some systems. In summary, Dr. Cobb pointed out figures for the average system and indicated that averages are somewhat misleading at times due to varying factors. Another way of comparing figures is to look at median figures (50% above and 50% below).
An additional set of figures involving taxation millages was highlighted by Dr. Cobb also. This would give board members an idea of the different taxes that are available to systems and the degree to which systems use those sources. Those taxes are Special Maintenance and Operation Tax, Special Building Repair and Equipment Tax, Special Leeway Tax, Constitutional Tax, and Sales Tax. The average system taxes at 11.88 for Special Maintenance & Operation and Lincoln Parish taxes at 5.2. The average system taxes at 9.59 for Special Building Repair and Equipment Tax and Lincoln Parish taxes at 5.22.
Dr. Cobb asked board members to study this information and formulate some questions and observations to determine which direction the Lincoln Parish School System should take.
Mr. Tuten indicated that this information would be viable information to use should this community decide jointly to go forward with this effort. He indicated that this would not be a project involving just the Lincoln Parish School Board but rather would be a community supported effort with a broad base of input and direction.
Dr. Beasley spoke that she felt that everyone who wanted to be involved should be included in this endeavor.
Mr. Tuten further indicated that he felt that the new board president, to be elected in January, 1992, should appoint the board representatives to serve on this committee.
Mr. Shealy asked that Dr. Cobb consider what type of committee should be formed to make this study. Dr. Cobb indicated that he would make this recommendation to the board at the first meeting in January.
Benice McGee gave the sales tax report for the month of November, 1991. This report reflected an increase of $20,823.26 or 9.39% over the same month last year. Thus far, this is a 4.2% increase for the year.
A financial update for October, 1991 was given by Mrs. McGee at this time.
Representatives for the Lincoln Parish Cooperative Extension Service were present and speaking for the group was Becky Rich, Home Economist for Lincoln Parish. She expressed appreciation to Lincoln Parish School Board for the support they offer after which she gave an explanation of the mission and purpose of the Lincoln Parish Cooperative Extension Service.
At this point in the meeting, Mr. Jay McCallum, the newly elected state representative entered and Mr. Tuten welcomed him and asked that he speak to the board. Mr. McCallum indicated his desire to be of service to the board in any way possible and encouraged each member to feel free to call him at any time. He pledged his support in board endeavors.
Upon a motion by Dr. Phil Rice, seconded by Mr. Wayne Barfield, the board voted to approve for inclusion in the Lincoln Parish Policy Manual the following revised policies:
Student Transportation Management EB
Arrangements for Substitute Teachers GBRJ
Annual Leave GBRK
Substitutes for Support Personnel GCRJ
Expulsion JDE
Mr. Tuten asked for an addition to the agenda under new business for the purpose of declaring as surplus equipment located in an old warehouse on the T & I property area and to dispose of both equipment and warehouse.
There being no objection to the addition of this agenda item, and upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted to declare as surplus the equipment and warehouse and to advertise for bids to dispose of this equipment and warehouse.
Dr. Cobb indicated that the next board meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 18 at Ruston Jr. High School.
Representatives from the School Food Service Program were present at the meeting. The board was informed that a meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 4 at which time information from the investigation of the report presented by a school food service representative at the last board meeting, and the recommendation that has been given to the board by Superintendent Cobb and members of the staff who addressed this situation will be reviewed. Mrs. Theodos will report back to the board on the outcome of this meeting.
Comments were made by Mr. David Wright concerning the status of the reapportionment plan, and he asked that Mr. Ken Selle, demographer, report back to the board to update them on the status of the plan at this point.
Mr. George Mack asked for a report on the statistics of expulsions/suspensions for grades 1-12 by race for the 1991-92 school year thus far. Dr. Cobb indicated that this information would be made available at an upcoming board meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Allen Tuten, President