LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
RUSTON, LOUISIANA
REGULAR SESSION
Wednesday, March 23, 1994
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Wednesday, March 23, 1994 at 12 o'clock noon at I. A. Lewis School. Members present were Mr. David Wright, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Andy Shealy, Mr. Rob Shadoin, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson and Mr. Paul Woodard.
Absent: Mr. Jim Kessler, Ms. Ann Boyd and Mr. Allen Tuten.
Prior to the business meeting, board members enjoyed a delicious lunch in the school cafeteria.
Mr. David Wright, president, called the meeting to order and the invocation was given by Mrs. Loyace Braggs.
Mr. Wright welcomed guests and members of the staff and media who were present.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the Regular Session of the Board held on March 8, 1994 as distributed.
Mr. Foster Harris, principal of I. A. Lewis, welcomed members of the board and guests who were present for the meeting and addressed the board, giving some very interesting and informative facts regarding I. A. Lewis School and its faculty, staff and students. Special emphasis was given to the outstanding work done by the very active Parent-Teacher Club (PTC) this school year. As a result of the work and effort put forth by this group, the school has received assistance in a number of areas such as additional computers, an accelerated reading program, and numerous other benefits afforded as a result of PTC endeavors.
Following this welcome by Mr. Harris, a report on student membership audit was given by Ron Suggs, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. He told the board that Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) funds received by the system are directly compared to an accurate student count of each school. We are mandated by the State Department of Education to have the student count information audited on a yearly basis. The procedure followed consists of two auditors choosing at random two schools in the parish, going to the school site, checking teachers' roll books and school office records, and actually counting a sample of students at the schools. The second step consists of a comparison made by auditors between records at the schools and notarized records from each school on file at the central office. This year the auditors chose to audit records at Alma J. Brown Lab School and Hico Elementary School. After reviewing their findings, the auditors stated that Lincoln Parish has the best and most accurate documentation of any schools checked thus far this year.
Dr. Cobb spoke and indicated that these excellent findings were the direct result of the work done by the school administrators and Mr. Ron Suggs. He complimented Mr. Suggs on this outstanding report.
Upon a motion by Dr. Marty Beasley, seconded by Mr. George Mack, the board voted unanimously to adopt a proclamation issued by the Office of the Governor of Louisiana designating the month of April as Child Search/ChildNet Awareness month, as presented by Sharon Thomas, Supervisor of Special Education for Lincoln Parish Schools, and also to officially issue a similar proclamation from the Lincoln Parish School Board.
The next agenda item to be considered was the appeal of students who have been recommended for expulsion. Mr. David Wright explained to all concerned the procedure to be followed in considering the appeal of students regarding recommended expulsion. Following this review of the procedure to be followed, Mr. Wright asked each parent if they wanted the session involving their child to be open or closed. After hearing the responses from each and based upon the request of the parent of the student whose appeal would be considered first, Mr. Wright entertained a motion to enter into closed session.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Wayne Barfield, the board voted to enter into closed session to hear the first appeal.
Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Mr. George Mack, the board voted unanimously to enter into open session.
Upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, the board voted by roll call vote of 6-3 to uphold the recommendation that the student be expelled from Ruston High School for the remainder of the 1993-94 school year as recommended by the school administration and the superintendent.
Voting to uphold the recommendation for expulsion: Mr. Wayne Barfield, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. Andy Shealy, Mr. Rob Shadoin, Mr. Paul Woodard and Mr. David Wright.
Voting against upholding the recommendation for expulsion: Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.
Absent and not voting: Mr. Jim Kessler, Ms. Ann Boyd and Mr. Allen Tuten.
The second appeal to be heard was conducted in open session at the request of the parent of the student involved. Mr. Charles Scriber presented background information on incidents leading up to the recommended expulsion of the ninth grade student at Ruston High School, after which Mr. Randy Moore, principal of Ruston High School, outlined the events taking place at Ruston High School.
The mother of the student issued a statement on her son's behalf, and was given opportunity to question the staff member and administrator regarding their comments.
Members of the board made varied comments, observations, and asked questions of all involved.
Following a lengthy discussion by members of the board and others involved, the board, upon a motion by Mr. Rob Shadoin, seconded by Mr. Andy Shealy, voted by roll call vote of 8-1 to uphold the recommendation for the expulsion of the student from Ruston High School for the remainder of the 1993-94 school year.
Voting to uphold the recommendation for expulsion: Mr. Wayne Barfield, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, W. George Mack, Mr. Andy Shady, Mr. Rob Shadoin, Mr. Paul Woodard, and Mr. David Wright.
Voting against upholding the recommendation for expulsion: Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.
Absent and not voting: Mr. Jim Kessler, Ms. Ann M. Boyd and Mr. Allen Tuten.
The third appeal to be heard was conducted in open session at the request of the mother of the student involved. Mr. Richard Hinton, Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance for Lincoln Parish Schools, presented background information on the events leading up to the recommendation for expulsion.
Following Mr. Hinton's report, Mr. Randy Moore, principal of Ruston High School, came before the board to give a detailed report on the incidents at Ruston High School leading up to the recommendation for expulsion.
The mother of the student was given opportunity to address the board regarding her son.
Following a lengthy discussion by members of the board and other involved parties, the board, upon a motion by Mr. Andy Shealy, seconded by Mr. Paul Woodard, voted by a roll call vote of 5-3 with one abstention to uphold the recommendation for the expulsion of the ninth grade student from Ruston High School for the remainder of the 1993-94 school year.
Voting to uphold the recommendation for expulsion: Mr. Wayne Barfield, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. Andy Shealy, Mr. Rob Shadoin and Mr. Paul Woodard.
Voting against the recommendation for expulsion: Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Mr. George Mack and Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.
Abstaining: Mr. David Wright.
Absent and not voting: Mr. Jim Kessler, Ms. Ann M. Boyd and Mr. Allen Tuten.
There being no further business, the meeting of the Lincoln Parish School Board was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary David Wright, President