LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, May 3, 1994 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, May 3, 1994 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. David Wright, President; Mr. Wayne Barfield, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Andy Shealy, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. Rob Shadoin, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson, Ms. Ann M. Boyd, Mr. Paul Woodard and Mr. Allen Tuten.
Absent: None
Mr. David Wright, president, called the meeting to order and gave the invocation.
He welcomed guests and members of the staff and media who were present for the meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Rob Shadoin, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously to adopt the agenda as printed and distributed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted unanimously to adopt the minutes of the Regular Session held on April 5, 1994 and the Special Called Session held on April 29, 1994, as distributed.
Mr. Danny Bell came before the board to recognize three outstanding students from Lincoln Parish Schools who participated at the parish level in the Louisiana Superintendent's Writing competition and were winners at this level. Those school system winners recognized were as follows: Russell Woodard, second grade at Hillcrest Elementary; Shamika Bezart, sixth grade at Grambling Middle School; and Jamie Madden, senior at Simsboro High School. Kerri Dick, eighth grade at Ruston Jr. High School, was also named as a winner but was unable to attend the board meeting. These students were presented with a certificate of appreciation and will now participate at the regional level.
Upon a motion by Mr. Jim Kessler, seconded by Mr. George Mack, the board voted unanimously to ratify the poll vote taken on April 27, 1994, requesting permission to accept the low bid in the amount of $100,740, submitted by Executive Consultants, for the purchase of a computer networking system, as authorized by the board on April 5, 1994 and opened and read aloud on Tuesday, April 26, 1994.
Upon a motion by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, seconded by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, the board voted unanimously to grant permission to apply for funds through Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Preschool Flow-Through, as presented by Sharon Thomas, Supervisor of Special Education for Lincoln Parish Schools.
The board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following personnel items were addressed:
1. Dr. Cobb presented background information on staff reassignment of duties resulting from the retirement of Mr. Robert Smith, Supervisor of Drug Free Program/Health & Physical Education. With his retirement, these duties will be absorbed by existing personnel as follows:
a. Barbara Kirkland, currently Supervisor of Vocational/Technical Education and the Chapter II Program, will assume additional duties of the Drug Free Program.
b. Richard Hinton will serve as Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance and Transportation Assistant. He will assume new duties including Health & Physical Education and Law Enforcement Liaison (newly instigated position). Mr. Hinton will become a 10-month employee instead of a 12-month and will no longer serve as Supervisor of Transportation.
Dr. Cobb also asked that the board grant permission to advertise for the position of Supervisor of Transportation as per the following timelines:
Advertise: May 4 - May 18, 1994
Interviews: May 19 - May 27, 1994
Recommendation: June 7, 1994
Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Mr. Jim Kessler, the board voted unanimously to approve the request of the Superintendent to advertise for the position of Supervisor of Transportation as per the above timelines.
2. Upon a motion by Mr. George Mack, seconded by Ms. Ann Boyd, the board voted unanimously to accept the letter of resignation submitted by Kaye Emfinger, preschool teacher at Lincoln Center, effective June 1, 1994.
3. Upon a motion by Mr. Wayne Barfield, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted unanimously to grant the request submitted by Guyette Barham for a Sabbatical Leave for the spring semester of the 1994-95 school year. Ms. Barham is a math teacher at Dubach High School.
4. Upon a motion by Mrs. Loyace Braggs, seconded by Mr. Jim Kessler, the board voted unanimously to grant the request for leave without pay for the 1994-95 school year, submitted by Zilla Cone, Library/English teacher at Choudrant High School.
5. Upon a motion by Mr. Paul Woodard, seconded by Ms. Ann M. Boyd, the board voted 11-1 to employ Barry Canterbury as P.E./Coach at Ruston High School, effective August 19, 1994.
Voting against the motion: Mr. Calvin Wilkerson
An update on Sales Tax receipts for April, 1994 was given by Pam Roy, Business Manager for Lincoln Parish Schools. She told the board that receipts reflected an increase for the month of $26,112 or 12.2% and for the year, an increase of $199,193 or 8.4%. Sales Tax monies recovered by audits had been removed from the totals since these collections are on a one-time basis by the parish auditor and outside recovery group. Removal of these figures gives a more accurate picture of sales tax collections. The 1993 Sales Tax fund reflected collections in the amount of $143,932 for the month of April, bringing the total collected thus far to $1,328,522.
Following the sales tax report, Ms. Roy gave information on the financial update for March, 1994. All funds were reported to be in good shape.
Mr. Suggs gave an overview of the Summer School and Drivers Education Programs for 1994. He indicated that summer school would encompass grades 9-12 and would offer English I-IV, Algebra I-II, Geometry, American History, Civics/Free Enterprise at a cost of $125 for a full credit and $75 for one-half credit. It will be held June 9 through August 11. Elementary summer school will be housed and directed by Grambling Middle School.
Beginning on June 6, 1994, Driver Education will be offered with 30 hours of classroom and 6 hours behind the wheel instruction. The cost per student is $110. It is estimated that the summer program will involve 175 students, handled by five teachers and one supervisor.
Mr. Suggs reminded the board that state law now mandates that 15 year olds must take a state approved Driver Education Program before they are able to obtain drivers license. Students must be 15 years of age before operating any vehicle utilized for driver education purposes. It was reported that both programs are operating at little or no cost to the School Board.
Barbara Kirkland, Supervisor of Federal Programs, reported to the board that knowledge, skills, and experience needed by students for the workplace of the 21st century are changing. The School-to-Work Transition approach represents a new career development strategy, promoted by the Federal government. It provides students with experiences to help them compete in a changing world.
She told the board that School-to-Work Opportunities project funds have been made available to state educational agencies in the form of competitive grants. Louisiana Tech University College of Human Ecology and Lincoln Parish School Board have received one of five grants available to local educational agencies to become partners in a project dedicated to job preparation in the field of retailing for area high school students. Applications for this six-week summer program are now being accepted and any high school student (age 16 or above) interested in learning about work and developing skills in retail sales may apply.
The Superintendent's Report was given by Dr. Gerald Cobb and he called attention to the following:
1. Board members were presented with a schedule of Lincoln Parish high school graduation dates.
2. He told board members that all retiring personnel of the Lincoln Parish School System would be honored at the board meeting to be held on June 7, 1994.
3. Information on 1993-94 expulsions, as requested by a member of the board, was given to board members.
Following the Superintendent's Report, concerns for disruption in schools and comments on the expulsion report were expressed by board member, Mr. Jim Kessler. Following Mr. Kessler's comments, other board members injected their thoughts and concerns which prompted a lengthy discussion entered into by several of the board members.
Following this lengthy discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary David Wright, President