LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, October 6, 1992 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 2, 1992 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: Dr. Phil Rice, Mr. David Wright, 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. Allen Tuten.
Absent: None
Dr. Phil Rice, president, called the meeting to order and gave the invocation.
Mr. Howard Whitlock, principal of Ruston Elementary School, introduced Victoria Yu, an outstanding fifth grade student from Ruston Elementary, who led the board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. The board enjoyed a special treat in hearing Victoria first give the pledge in her native language, Chinese. On behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board, Dr. Cobb presented her with a certificate of appreciation for leading the board in the pledge,
Dr. Rice welcomed the guests and members of the staff and media who were present for the meeting.
Upon a motion by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, seconded by Mr. Jim Kessler, the board voted to approve, as amended, the minutes of the Regular Session of the Board held on September 1, 1992.
Mr. Charles Scriber, Supervisor of Secondary Education, was called on to present some very special guests. The following three teachers were recognized for being selected as Teacher of the Year winners in Lincoln Parish for 1992-93:
Rebecca Barnett Ruston High School
Speech Teacher and Debate Coach
Peggy Fallin Ruston Jr. High School
Language Arts Teacher & Student Council Sponsor
Sonya Walker Ruston Elementary School
Fifth Grade Teacher
On behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board, Dr. Cobb presented each of these teachers with a plaque of appreciation for their outstanding service to the school system.
Following these presentations, Ron Suggs informed the board that Kimberly Veazey, a past student at Simsboro High School and now attending Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts in Natchitoches, has recently been named as a National Merit Semifinalist. A certificate expressing the board's appreciation to Kimberly will be sent to her.
Mr. Fred Higginbotham, principal at Ruston High School, recognized Cara Hanchey, a senior at Ruston High School, who was also named as a National Merit Semifinalist. He spoke of her many accomplishments at Ruston High School, including a 4.83 grade point average. Dr. Cobb, on behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board, presented Cara with a plaque in appreciation of her outstanding academic achievements. Also recognized for being named as a commended National Merit Semifinalist was Jana Nolan, a senior at Ruston High School. She will be presented with a certificate in appreciation for this achievement. Comments from Dr. Cobb informed those present that only one tenth of one percent of all high school students in America are recognized as National Merit Semifinalists. He further indicated that since the beginning of this program in 1957, Lincoln Parish Public Schools have had a total of 133 students to receive this prestigious honor. Over 80% of the high schools in the USA have never had a single student recognized for this honor.
At this point in the board meeting, Mr. Ron Suggs, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, requested that the board enter into Executive Session under R.S. 42:6.1 A(4) to discuss the scheduling of a tenure hearing.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Jim Kessler, the board voted 12-0, by roll call vote, to go into Executive Session at 6:20 p.m.
Voting for the motion: Mr. David Wright, 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, Mr. Allen Tuten, and Dr. Phil Rice.
Voting against the motion: None
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. George Mack, the board voted unanimously to end the Executive Session and return to Regular Session at 6:40 p.m.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted unanimously to schedule a hearing on November 10, 1992 at 6:00 p.m. to consider the matter of the tenure hearing of Ms. Peggy Gray.
A report of the Finance Committee meeting held on Monday, October 5 was given by Mr. Allen Tuten, chairman, as follows:
1. The first item to be considered was the approval of disbursement of Instructional Supply Money for 1992-93 from the 1979 Sales Tax to each individual school, based on student enrollment. The total recommended allocation is $64,140.50 and is the same amount as was distributed in 1991-92 on a per pupil basis.
Upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee, a motion was made by Mr. Allen Tuten and seconded by Mr. Wayne Barfield and the board voted unanimously to approve the distribution of Instructional Supply Money for 1992-93, as recommended in the total amount of $64,140.50.
2. Several items relating to the proposed Sales Tax/Millage proposition were considered by the Finance Committee as follows:
a. The first of those is a requirement for a resolution to be passed by the board calling for a Special Election to be held for the voters to consider the Sales Tax/Millage propositions. Mr. Tuten indicated that the Finance Committee did review this resolution thoroughly and felt that a recommendation to the board for the adoption of the resolution was in order.
Upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee, a motion was made by Mr. Allen Tuten, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, that the board adopt the resolution, as presented to the board, calling for a special election to consider the Sales Tax/Millage propositions.
Following this motion, Mr. George Mack indicated that he felt more time was needed to study the wording of the resolution. After withdrawal of the motion by Mr. Tuten and the second by Mrs. Braggs, the board agreed that the recommendation to adopt the resolution would be taken under advisement in order to allow more time for the document to be studied. It will be voted on at the next board meeting to be held on Wednesday, October 21 at 12:00 noon at Choudrant Elementary School.
b. Mr. Tuten informed the board that it was the recommendation of the Finance Committee to approve the wording of the proposition contained in the resolution. The board agreed that this also would be taken under advisement with action on this recommendation to be delayed until the next board meeting to be held on October 21, 1992.
c. The final item relating to the Sales Tax/Millage resolution and proposition was presented by Mr. Tuten. He indicated that there are two parts to the proposition; one part concerning sales tax and one part concerning property millage. Mr. Tuten told the board that it was the opinion of the committee that the two parts should be separated and not tied together in any way on the ballot. In other words, if one should pass and the other fails, the one that passed would go into effect. The board agreed that action on this item also would be deferred until the next board meeting to be held on October 21, 1992.
3. The board's attention was called to the necessity of involving a citizens' committee to elect or appoint a secretary-treasurer to handle and account for election contributions and expenditures. Mr. Tuten indicated that members of the Citizens' Advisory Council as well as additional interested persons would be contacted to form this committee. He encouraged board members to make additional suggestions in order that the makeup of this group can be determined in the near future.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following personnel items were addressed:
1. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Wayne Barfield, the board voted to accept the following faculty/staff resignations as presented by Ron Suggs.
Following a lengthy discussion, the board voted unanimously, with the exception of the resignation submitted by Mr. Craig Foster, English teacher at Dubach High School, to accept all resignations as listed below: Voting against the acceptance of this resignation was Mr. George Mack.
a. Craig Foster, English/Reading teacher at Dubach High School, effective October 2, 1992
b. Deborah Seal, special education aide at Glen View, effective September 11, 1992
c. Debra Pierot, special education aide at Glen View, effective October 9, 1992
2. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted unanimously to employ the following teacher/aide personnel as presented by Ron Suggs:
a. Diane Ebeyer as English/Reading teacher at Dubach High School to replace Craig Foster, resigned, to be effective October 5, 1992
b. Beverly Radford as math teacher at Ruston High School in a new position, effective September 30, 1992
c. David Bissic as science teacher at Simsboro in a new position, effective September 4, 1992
d. Patti Stephens as special education aide at Glen View to replace Deborah Seal, resigned, effective September 14, 1992
e. Leonard Turner as special education aide at I. A. Lewis to replace Janet Mathews, resigned, effective September 16, 1992
f. Carla Sutton as special education aide at Ruston Elementary to replace Carolyn Jones, transferred, effective September 16, 1992
3. The following School Food Service personnel were considered, as presented by Brenda Theodos:
a. Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to accept the resignation submitted by Dee-Dee Cantrell, SFS clerk at Cypress Springs School, effective September 8, 1992.
b. Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to employ Beverly Redden as SFS clerk at Cypress Springs School, replacing Dee-Dee Cantrell, resigned. This will be effective September 8, 1992.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Curriculum Committee item was addressed as presented by Mr. Charles Scriber, Supervisor of Secondary Education:
Act 1085 of the 1992 Legislature established the Louisiana Honors Scholarship Program from 8g funds. This scholarship is tuition exemption to graduates of Louisiana high schools who graduate in the top 5 percent of their class. Receipt of this scholarship enables the graduate to attend, exempt from tuition, any private college or public college or university. In order to participate in this scholarship program, the board must approve a ranking criteria for the selection of these students. Mr. Scriber indicated that this ranking criteria has been established by the administration of Lincoln Parish Schools and requested that the board consider approval of the criteria as presented.
Upon a motion by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board voted unanimously to approve the ranking criteria for Lincoln Parish School System graduates to participate in the Louisiana Honors Scholarship Program.
A report on Sales Tax receipts for September, 1992 was given by Richie Garrett, Supervisor of Finance. Figures presented by Mr. Garrett reflected a decrease in receipts from the previous month; however, a comparison with last year's collections showed an increase in receipts.
An update on the financial status for August, 1992 was given by Mr. Garrett. He indicated to the board that all funds are in good financial shape at this time. A breakdown of revenues and expenditures for the month was given. Board members commended Mr. Garrett and his staff on the new format for the financial update.
A status on health insurance was presented by Pam Roy. She told the board that as of July 30, 1992, the ending fund balance for the employees' health and dental insurance program was $1,148,728. Board members commended Dr. Cobb, Ms. Roy and staff members on their diligence in seeking our enrollment in the self insured health program. A number of comments were received regarding the excellent service that all participating members receive.
The annual Academic Awards Banquet will be held on October 19, 1992 at the Ruston Civic Center, as reported by Danny Bell, Supervisor of Elementary Programs. Mr. Bell told the board that this year we have 148 students receiving awards. Board members were encouraged to attend this annual event honoring those achieving academic excellence in Lincoln Parish Schools.
A copy of the speaking engagements scheduled by Dr. Cobb to give him opportunity to present information on the proposed Sales Tax/Millage proposition was given to board members. They were encouraged to make him aware of any group or organization that he should address regarding this proposition.
At an earlier date the board had responded to a questionnaire indicating their desire to participate in the Council for a Better Louisiana's (CABL) School Board Strategic Planning Services. Dr. Cobb informed the board that he had received a response to their recent application indicating that limited resources would not allow CABL to select all of the parishes which applied for the services; however, they will attempt to include additional parishes in 1993-94.
Representative Jay McCallum addressed the board at this time, giving particular emphasis to the proposed ten percent cut to the Minimum Foundation Program. He told the board that there was one proposal on the ballot in the constitutional convention but it has a number of different perimeters extending from it. The one proposition that should be of paramount interest to board members is the one dealing with budget cuts and whether we are going to be able as a state to go into the Minimum Foundation Program and cut up to ten percent. Representative McCallum indicated that this one issue is the only one that really does anything that is going to make a difference. He expressed his concern to the board that he felt this cut would take place if the constitutional convention passed. Following additional comments from Representative McCallum, he addressed questions from board members.
In the Superintendent's Report, Dr. Cobb commented on the following items:
1. A photograph of Ruston High School was recently on the cover of a state art magazine, depicting that building as a recent entry into the National Register of Historic Preservation.
2. The central office administrative staff will begin on October 8 to make school visits as a group with different administrators observing in each classroom.
3. The next board meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 21 at Choudrant Elementary School.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Philip F. Rice, President