LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, January 5, 1993 6:30 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, January 5, 1993 at 6:30 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 the invocation was given by Mr. David Wright.
Ms. Marilyn Ferguson of Alma Brown Elementary Lab School introduced Ayanna Barham, a fifth grade student at Alma Brown School, who led the board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Ms. Ferguson indicated that Ayanna is a member of the gifted class, 4-H club and an outstanding student and citizen at Alma Brown. Following the pledge, Dr. Cobb presented Ayanna with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board.
Dr. Cobb welcomed guests and members of the staff and media who were present.
Upon a motion by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, seconded by Mr. Wayne Barfield, the board voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on December 16, 1992.
Dr. Rice opened the floor for nominations for board president for 1993. Mrs. Loyace Braggs made a motion that Dr. Phil Rice serve as president and Ms. Ann M. Boyd seconded the motion. Mr. Allen Tuten moved that the nominations cease and that Dr. Rice be re-elected by acclamation. The board voted unanimously to re-elect Dr. Rice as president for 1993 by acclamation. At this time, Dr. Rice expressed his appreciation to the board for their confidence and pledged to do his best in leading the board in the upcoming year.
Dr. Rice then opened the floor for nominations for vice-president of the board for the 1993 calendar year. Mr. Jim Kessler made a motion that Mr. David Wright be elected to serve as vice-president for 1993 and Ms. Ann M. Boyd seconded the motion. Mr. Allen Tuten moved that nominations cease and that Mr. Wright be re-elected to serve as vice-president by acclamation. The board voted unanimously to re-elect Mr. David Wright as vice-president for 1993 by acclamation. Mr. Wright expressed his appreciation to the board for their confidence and pledged to continue to do his best in serving as vice-president of the board.
The board then heard from Mr. Gardner Clark, president of Concerned Parents and Citizens of Lincoln Parish. Mr. Clark expressed appreciation on behalf of the efforts made thus far in resolving some of the concerns of this group. He indicated that an additional list of concerns had been presented to Dr. Rice and would also be submitted to the Bi-Racial Committee.
Mr. Charles Scriber indicated that action on the agenda item calling for an allocation of funds to school libraries would be postponed until later due to a lack of available funds at this time.
A report of the Finance Committee was given by Mr. Allen Tuten, chairman of that committee as follows:
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Mr. George Mack, the board voted to remove from the table the recommendation of the Insurance Committee to allow this payroll deduction and to conduct an in-depth study of current insurance payroll deductions now in existence and report back to the board with this information and the board will look at establishing a policy regarding access to payroll deduction. This was the motion made at the board meeting held on December 16, 1992.
Upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee and upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board, after a lengthy discussion by board members,, voted 7-5 to table the recommendation of the Insurance Committee regarding payroll deduction for Capitol American Insurance and to conduct a study of all of our payroll deductions now in effect and to come back to the board with a report or recommendation for future payroll deductions for insurance. This responsibility was charged to the central office administration.
Voting for the motion: Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. Andy Shealy, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Ms. Ann M. Boyd, Mr. Paul Woodard, Mr. Allen Tuten and Dr. Phil Rice.
Voting against the motion: Mr. David Wright, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Jim Kessler, and Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.
A report of the Personnel Committee was given at this time and the following action was taken:
1. Upon a motion by Mr. Wayne Barfield, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to accept the letter of resignation submitted by Dana Milam, science teacher at Ruston High School effective January 15, 1993 as presented by Ron Suggs.
2. Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board voted to approve employing Gary Cathey as bus driver in the Simsboro School District effective January 4, 1993 as presented by Richard Hinton.
An addendum to the Personnel Committee agenda was considered and the following action was taken:
1. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted to accept the letter of resignation submitted by Sandra Wilson, secretary at I. A. Lewis School, effective January 4, 1993 as presented by Charles Owens.
Ms. Sharon Thomas, Supervisor of Special Education for Lincoln Parish Schools, reported to the board that the compliance score required by the Laura I. Consent Decree for the program standards exit monitoring for the extended school year program (ESYP) had been met. In order to pass a score of 90% had to be attained on the monitoring. The average score for parishes who passed was 94%. Lincoln Parish passed with a score of 99.4% and is one of only 25 other parishes who have passed both phases of the monitoring. Ms. Thomas expressed appreciation to special education teachers for the excellent work that has gone into reaching this goal. Dr. Cobb expressed his appreciation to Ms. Thomas and her staff for the past two years of hard work that has brought our Special Education Program up to date and made it one of the best in the state. Responding to a suggestion made by Dr. Marty Beasley, a resolution of appreciation will be prepared and presented to Ms. Sharon Thomas and her special education department on behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board, showing the board's appreciation for the dedication and hard work exemplified.
Ms. Becky Rich, Home Economist and parish chairman with the Lincoln Parish Cooperative Extension Service, was present along with members of her staff. Ms. Rich gave a brief overview of the work of the extension service and the different phases of their organization. She indicated to the board that, being a part of LSU and the higher education, the program has been cut in some areas.
Richie Garrett, Supervisor of Finance, reported on Sales Tax receipts for December, 1992. He indicated that collections in the amount of $13,847.37 reflected an increase of 7.2% over December, 1991. He projected an estimated sales tax balance of $760,416 at the end of June, 1993.
Following the Sales Tax report, Mr. Garrett gave the board an update on Finances for November, 1992. He reviewed fund balances and then called the board's attention to the budget comparison that had been prepared for their study. He indicated that an evaluation of the budget is currently taking place.
Policies requiring revision due to legislation passed during the 1992 Legislative Session were presented for the board's approval by Dr. Cobb. Upon a motion by Mr. Allen Tuten, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board voted to approve adoption of the revised policies for inclusion in the Lincoln Parish Policy Manual as shown below:
Policy DC ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET
Policy GBA COMPENSATION GUIDES AND CONTRACTS
Policy GBD PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL HIRING
Policy GBN SEPARATION OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS
Policy GCN SEPARATION OF CLASSIFIED AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL
Policy GBHA EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE
Policy GBR WORKING CONDITIONS
Policy GBRIB SICK LEAVE (ILLNESS)
Policy GBRJ SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
Policy GCD NONPROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL HIRING
Policy JBCC STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS
Policy JCDAC STUDENT ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE
Policy JCDAE DANGEROUS WEAPONS
Policy JDD SUSPENSION
Policy JD DISCIPLINE
Upon motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mr. Allen Tuten, the board voted to also adopt Policy DJCB entitled Salary Deductions, with the understanding that this policy would be considered for further revision as recommended following a study to be conducted by the administration.
Upon a motion by Mr. Allen Tuten, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to adopt the proclamation designating January 27, 1993 as School Nurse Day in Lincoln Parish.
In the Superintendent's Report, Dr. Cobb called attention to a letter received from a parent concerning the DARE program and expressing appreciation to Deputy Mike Stone, Sheriff Wayne Houck, the Sheriff's Department, and the Lincoln Parish School Board for this program and its implementation in our schools.
Dr. Cobb also called attention to a letter received from Governor Edwin Edwards, outlining the successes of his first year's administration.
At the close of the meeting a lengthy discussion was held by members of the board expressing thoughts and some concerns about race relations in our schools. Following this time of discussion, Mr. David Wright, vice president of the board, went on record as restating the board's antidiscrimination policy and the administration's responsibility to mandate implementation of this policy.
There being no further business, the board adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Philip F. Rice, President