LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, May 4, 1993 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, May 4, 1993 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 the invocation was given by Mr. Andy Shealy.
Following the welcome to guests and members of the staff and media, the pledge to the American Flag was given. Todd Whitlock, fifth grade student from Ruston Elementary, was on the agenda to lead the pledge but due to illness was unable to be present. In his absence, the pledge was led by board president, Dr. Phil Rice.
At this time a motion was offered by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard to delete agenda item 11.4, dealing with hearing a parental concern, from the board agenda because Mr. Shealy felt that hearing this would establish a precedent for anyone having a concern relative to a decision made by a principal to appear before the board. He also indicated that he felt consideration of this agenda item would be in violation of Lincoln Parish Policy JBCC which states that a principal will make student assignments in grades K-8. Several board members voiced objections to this proposal, indicating that since proper channels and procedures had been followed in requesting permission to appear on the board agenda, the parents should be allowed to voice their concern. After additional discussion regarding this motion, it was defeated by a 6-5 vote as follows:
Voting for the motion: Mr. Andy Shealy, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Mr. Paul Woodard and Ms. Ann M. Boyd.
Voting against the motion: Mr. David Wright, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson, and Mr. Allen Tuten.
Abstaining: Dr. Phil Rice
Returning to the regular agenda, Mr. Danny Bell, Supervisor of Elementary Programs, gave special recognition to the Louisiana State Superintendent's Writing Award winners. They are Laura Blackwelder, a second grade student who attends A. E. Phillips; LaToya Houston, a sixth grade student who attends I. A. Lewis; and Shondra Fobbs, an eighth grade student who attends Grambling Middle School.
Mrs. Donna White, chemistry teacher at Ruston High School, was recognized and asked to make a presentation to Mukund Saxena, a semifinalist in the 52nd annual science talent search for Westinghouse Science Scholarship. Mrs. White, in introducing Mukund, told the board that not only is he an outstanding student but he is also a very nice person. On behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board, Dr. Cobb presented Mukund with a certificate of appreciation for his outstanding achievement.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session of the board held on Tuesday, April 6, 1993, as distributed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted unanimously to ratify the poll vote taken on April 8-12, 1993 requesting permission to advertise for bids for the purchase of six (6) new diesel school buses, as presented by Richard Hinton, Supervisor of Transportation.
Upon a motion by Mr. George Mack, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted unanimously to ratify the poll vote taken on April 23, 1993 granting permission to accept the low bid that met specifications for the purchase of six (6) new diesel school buses, as presented by Richard Hinton, Supervisor of Transportation.
Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted unanimously to grant permission to send Letters of Continued Employment to all employees as mandated by Act 745 of the 1977 legislature and presented by Ron Suggs, Director of Curriculum and Instruction.
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously to grant permission to submit a project application for Special Education Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-8) and Pre-School Flow Through Funds, as presented by Sharon Thomas.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously to grant permission to authorize expenditure of monies from the 1979 Sales Tax for instructional purposes for the 1993-94 school year, as presented by Ron Suggs, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. These funds are sent to each Lincoln Parish School, based on enrollment figures taken from the Equalization Report dated October 1, 1992 and are to be used in Art, P.E., Library Supplies, Music, Magazines and Newspapers, and Science.
Upon a motion by Mr. Wayne Barfield, seconded by Mr. Calvin Wilkerson, the board voted unanimously to declare various shop items at Dubach High School as surplus in order to dispose of the items in accordance with regulations, as presented by Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Programs.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Personnel Committee items were addressed:
1. Dr. Gerald Cobb, superintendent, came before the board to present the recommendation for the Glen View Elementary principalship. He indicated that there were four (4) applicants for the position. The Interview Committee consisted of Ronnie Suggs, Foster Harris, Patsy Bullock, James Pilgreen, Charles Owens, and Danny Bell, who served as an observer only with no vote. Dr. Cobb's recommendation to the board was that they approve Cecil Barham, the highest scoring applicant and unanimous recommendation of the Interview Committee, as the new principal of Glen View Elementary School.
Upon a motion by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted unanimously to approve employing Mr. Cecil Barham as the new principal at Glen View Elementary, effective July 1, 1993.
2. Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Mr. David Wright, the board voted unanimously to grant requests for Sabbatical Leave for the 1993-94 school year to the following teachers:
a. Roxann Fallin, Language Arts teacher at Simsboro High School, Sabbatical Leave for rest and recuperation
b. Miranda Parnell, Home Economics teacher at Simsboro High School, Sabbatical Leave for professional improvement
3. Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board voted unanimously to grant the request for Leave-Without-Pay for 1993-94, submitted by Lisa Taylor, math teacher at Ruston Jr. High School.
4. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Dr. Marty Beasley, the board voted unanimously to accept the letter of resignation submitted by Janice Girouard, itinerant adaptive P. E. teacher.
At this point in the meeting, Dr. Rice asked that if the board desired, the agenda item dealing with hearing the parental concern would be addressed. There being no objection, Dr. Rice inquired of the parent if she desired a public or private hearing. The parent asked for a public hearing.
Dr. Rice asked the principal involved if he desired a public or private hearing. He asked for a private hearing. Dr. Rice then called for the board to enter into Executive Session. After objections to a closed meeting from a member of the media, Mr. Shealy left the meeting briefly to obtain copies of information dealing with the open meetings law.
Other items of business were addressed while this information was being sought.
Richie Garrett, Supervisor of Finance for Lincoln Parish Schools, gave a report of sales tax receipts for April, 1993. He told the board that receipts showed an increase of $21,449.38 or approximately 11%, giving a yearly increase thus far of $63,199.15 or about a 3% increase over last year. At the June board meeting, the amount of the salary adjustment check to be distributed on July 15 will be authorized.
There was no financial update for March, 1993 due to a conversion of the accounting office records to an updated computer system.
A report on upcoming summer programs was given by Ron Suggs. Programs planned are as follows:
1. High School Summer School for grades 9-12 to be held at Ruston High School. The cost will be $120 for one unit and $75 for one/half unit.
2. Driver Education will be offered at a cost of $110 with one/half credit given upon completion of this course.
3. Special Education Extended Summer Program
4. Chapter I Summer Program
5. Tutoring programs by school
Mr. Suggs indicated that all of these programs will be funded with federal or state funds or by self-generated funds.
A report on Progress Profiles was given by Mr. Suggs. Each board member received a district copy of the 1991-92 Progress Profiles containing information on each school in the district. This program was mandated by former Governor Roemer's "Children First Act" and this is the third year of the distribution. Mr. Suggs told the board that this report compares each school with district and state totals in class size, certification of faculty, student attendance, student dropouts, suspension and expulsion, and test scores.
Information on textbook purchases for the 1993-94 school year was given by Danny Bell, Supervisor of Elementary Programs. He indicated that recent correspondence from the State Superintendent of Education reveals that the textbook dollar amount for 1993-94 is $27.02, with part of this money to be expended for shipping costs and library books. The total amount remaining for actual purchase of textbooks would be approximately $20.75. He pointed out that the average cost of a textbook today is $30.00 or higher. However, as a result of the passage of the recent millage for the Lincoln Parish School System students, we can now add an additional $36.79 per child to the amount from the state, thus enabling Lincoln Parish Schools to buy enough textbooks to meet the needs of all students. The board again expressed appreciation to the community for their support in the passage of the recent millage as once more they are made aware of the benefits this will bring to our students.
Dr. Marty Beasley and Mr. Jim Kessler addressed the board regarding their attendance at the LSBA/LASS Day at the Legislature held on May 4, 1993. They highlighted various bills that are before the legislature and pointed out some of the pros and cons of these bills. Information regarding many of these bills was distributed to board members for further study and for providing them with additional information.
At this point in the meeting, the board once again discussed whether or not to hear the issue dealing with parental concern. Mr. Shealy stated that, in his capacity as a school board member only, he felt, after studying the open meetings law, there appears to be a potential conflict between the rights of the employee to have their professional competence questioned or discussed in open meeting and the parent to request that the meeting be held in open session.
A motion was offered by Mr. Andy Shealy that we request the District Attorney's office to obtain an opinion from the Attorney General regarding the rights of the parents of the student to request that any matters involving their children be held in open session as opposed to the rights of the employee to request that any matter relative to discussion of the employee be held in closed session. Based upon receipt of that opinion, Mr. Shealy indicated that the board would, at that point, know how to proceed. A second was offered to this motion by Mr. Allen Tuten.
A discussion followed the offering of this motion and the parents indicated that they did not wish to delay their concerns until such time as an Attorney General's opinion could be received. They further indicated that they would agree for the board to enter into closed session if this was necessary to expedite resolution of this concern. Upon agreement by both parties to enter into closed session, Mr. Shealy agreed to withdraw his motion and Mr. Tuten withdrew his second.
Upon a motion by Mr. George Mack, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, the board voted unanimously to enter into closed session at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the matter of parental concern.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously to go back into open session at 8:45 p.m.
After hearing no motion, Dr. Rice, president, indicated that the board believes that the principal acted within the existing policy of the board.
Mr. Ron Suggs spoke to the board regarding the qualifications and job description for elementary coordinating teachers. He reminded the board that the 193 Sales Tax allotted coordinating teacher positions for our elementary schools. The timeline involved in filling these positions includes accepting applications from June 1 - June 15, interviewing the next week, and recommendations to the board on July 6, 1993. The five positions to be filled include Cypress Springs, Ruston Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Glen View, and I.A. Lewis/Lincoln Center.
Upon a motion by Mr. Allen Tuten, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted unanimously to approve the job description and qualifications set forth for elementary coordinating teachers as presented by Mr. Suggs.
Upon a motion by Mr. Allen Tuten, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution stating the board's support of any legislative bill allowing bus drivers to report operational expense as an expense and not as salary income, as presented to the board by Richie Garrett. Background information was given stating that in previous years, the bus driver's operational expense was reported on their W-2 Form as an expense reimbursement. Recently, the accounting office has been informed by the Internal Revenue Service that this expense should no longer be reported as an expense reimbursement, but should be reported as salary on the W-2 Form, thereby, increasing the amount of taxes that bus drivers must pay. Copies of this resolution will be sent to the Louisiana Congressional Delegation, to the Governor, members of the Louisiana Legislature, to the State Superintendent of Public Education, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and to all superintendents in the state.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted to approve granting ConAgra Poultry Company in Choudrant permission for right-of-way across portions of property owned by the Lincoln Parish School Board for the purpose of constructing a waterline to transport surface water from the ConAgra feed mill to the hatchery for processing. This was presented to the board by Mr. Charles Owens.
Abstaining from the vote was Mr. Andy Shealy.
In the Superintendent's Report, Dr. Cobb called on Mr. Shealy to report on the status of the suit involving battery of a Glen View Elementary teacher. Mr. Shealy reported that the party involved had been sentenced by the court for battery of the teacher.
Dr. Cobb also reminded board members that just prior to the next board meeting to be held on June 1, 1993, all retiring employees of the Lincoln Parish School System will be honored at a reception.
Following various comments by members of the board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary Philip F. Rice, President