LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, May 7, 1996 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, May 7, 1996, 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, Mr. Billy Abrahm, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Dr. Marty Beasley (arrived after the meeting started), Ms. Loyace Braggs, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Allen Tuten, and Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.
Absent was Mr. Rob Shadoin.
President Wright called the meeting to order and the invocation was given by Mr. Mack. Mr. Wright led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Dr. Beasley arrived at this time.
Mr. Wright welcomed special guests, members of the official staff, and media.
Upon a motion by Mr. Abrahm, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as printed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Ms. Braggs, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on April 2, 1996, as distributed.
Director of Auxiliary Services, Mr. Charles Owens, came before the Board to recognize three Outstanding Support Persons. He went over the selection procedure and emphasized that the school system could not operate without these special people. Winners were selected from three divisions: elementary, middle school, and secondary school. Parishwide winners presented with plaques were: Kathie Farmer, Secretary at Choudrant High School; Carolyn Bolds, Custodian at Ruston Junior High School; and Debra Wright, Secretary at Alma J. Brown Elementary School. The principal from each school spoke brief words of praise for and appreciation to the winners.
Upon a motion by Dr. Beasley, seconded by Mr. Kessler, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to submit a project application for Special Education IDEA-B and Preschool Flow-Through Funds for Fiscal Year 1997 as presented by Ms. Sharon Thomas, Supervisor of Special Education.
Transportation Supervisor, Mr. Howard Whitlock, reminded Board members that in order to provide daily service to the students of the parish and buses for activity and field trips, the parish has been forced for the past several years to pursue a bus acquisition plan. He feels that it is vitally important for yearly bus purchases to continue. His 96-97 school year request for permission to buy 8 used buses is necessitated in part by the number of older board-owned buses that remain in use, the escalating cost of owning and operating a bus has caused several contract drivers to become Board drivers, and the retirement of a contract driver requiring a board bus to be put in that position. Quantity as well as quality is needed and only 5 new buses could be purchased for the anticipated cost of 8 used buses. Great service has been received from the used buses purchased last year.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise for 8 used school buses.
Upon a motion by Mrs. Braggs, seconded by Dr. Beasley, the Board voted 10 - 0 to grant permission for Humanitarian Enterprises (H.E.L.P.) of Lincoln Parish to use Lincoln Center's Cafeteria as a feeding site for the Summer Food Service for Children Program. Although Mr. Abrahm agreed with the Board's decision, he abstained from the vote because he is member of their Advisory Board. This annual request, presented by Mr. Owens, was enthusiastically received by the Board.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tuten, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise for bids on duplicating fluid; thermal masters and spirit masters; toilet tissue and paper towels; dust mops; and gasoline and diesel. This yearly request was recommended by Mr. Charles Owens.
Principal of Ruston High School, Mr. Randy Moore, asked the Board to participate in a joint project with the R.H.S. Football Booster Club. The present weight room is a 60' x 40' building which is very inadequate and dangerous for use by very many athletes at one time. Expected in the football program next year are 150 - 170 young people and those participating in other sports are planning to make use of the weight room in the future. Superintendent Gerald Cobb and Mr. Moore propose an additional 30' x 40' expansion to the south end of the present facility. In order to be in compliance with applicable procedures, quotes will be solicited from five qualified builders who do this type of construction. The cost is expected to be approximately $18,000. He shared their recommendation that the Board fund 50% of the cost, not to exceed $9,000, for the 1200' expansion.
After a brief discussion, upon a motion by Mr. Tuten, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to approve the expansion of the weight room, accept the proposal meeting specifications and guidelines, and split the approximate cost of $18,000 with the Ruston High School Football Booster Club.
Upon a motion by Mr. Abrahm, seconded by Mr. Kessler, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to send Letters of Continued Employment to employees as mandated by Act 745 of the 1977 legislature. This request is presented annually by Mr. Ronnie Suggs, Director of Curriculum and Instruction.
The Board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Personnel Committee agenda items were discussed:
Upon a motion by Mr. Barfield, seconded by Ms. Braggs, the Board unanimously voted to approve the following requests as recommended by Mr. Suggs:
1. Retirement of Ollie Lolley, effective June 7, 1996, as counselor at Choudrant High School.
2. Retirement, effective December 31, 1996, of Earlene Strother as teacher of academically gifted students at Cypress Springs and Simsboro.
3. Retirement of Madeline Cooper, effective May 31, 1996, as teacher at Hico Elementary.
4. Resignation, effective June 30, 1996, of James H. Smith as vocational ag. teacher at Dubach High School.
5. Resignation of Freda Taylor, effective May 31, 1996, as teacher at Simsboro.
6. Rescission of sabbatical leave for 96-97 for Kathy League, teacher at Ruston Elementary.
7. Rescission of sabbatical leave for 96-97 for a teacher at Ruston Elementary, Nancy McDonald.
8. Request for emergency sabbatical leave effective April 9, 1996, and for the remainder of 95-96, by Gloria Johnson, English teacher at Choudrant High.
9. Request for sabbatical leave for 96-97 for Sue Barfield, teacher at Hico Elementary.
10. Request for sabbatical leave for the 1st semester of 96-97 for a French teacher at Hico Elementary/Dubach High, Kathryn Davis.
11. Request for sabbatical leave for 96-97 for Debbie Key, P. E. teacher at Hico Elementary.
12. Request for sabbatical leave for 96-97 for a school nurse, Jo Tatum.
Mr. Suggs said all of these leave requests meet local and state guidelines.
Mr. Wright asked if the individual to be considered as the last item of personnel business was present. He was not; therefore, Mr. Wright recommended that the Board enter into executive session.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Kessler, the Board unanimously voted to go into executive session at 6:28 p.m. to consider the suspension without pay of a custodian.
Upon a motion by Dr. Beasley, seconded by Mr. Tuten, the Board unanimously voted to return to regular session at 6:35 p.m.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board unanimously voted to uphold the administration's suspension without pay for two weeks of a custodial worker. The suspension, for unsatisfactory job performance, was recommended by Mr. Charles Owens.
Mr. Tuten, as Chairman, presented a report from the Finance Committee which met May 1, 1996. The following action was taken:
1. Mr. Tuten briefly recapped projections of revenue and expenses which were included in the beginning budget for 95-96 that was adopted in September. He read the revised budget numbers and indicated that the grand total ending balance as of June 30, 1996, was projected to be a $241,423 deficit. "Hopefully that will not be the case," Mr. Tuten said. The Finance Committee reviewed and recommended the approval of the revised budget. Upon a motion by Mr. Tuten, seconded by Dr. Beasley, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the Revised Budget for all funds for 95-96.
2. Mr. Tuten introduced the final Finance Committee item and requested that Mr. Wright chair this portion so there would be no perception of conflict of interest since he is the Administrator at Lincoln General Hospital. Mr. Tuten said that in an effort to control health care expenses employers are entering into contracts of various sorts with health care suppliers who offer incentives to certain providers in return for a reduced payment to the provider. These are called Preferred Provider Organizations (P.P.O.). This is a rather complex process and most claims administrators don't have the necessary computer equipment to reprice the health care bills; therefore, they utilize some other, larger third party. In checking with P.P.O.'s to determine which physicians and hospitals had discount arrangements with them, Health Advantage seemed to best be able to meet the needs of the Lincoln Parish area. Although contacted, no physicians in the Ruston area nor hospitals in the Monroe area have signed with Health Advantage. Efforts will continue to be made to get them to participate. Lincoln General Hospital does have a contract with them. Under the proposed terms, Self Insurance, the Board's third party administrator, would pay 90% if an employee chooses a hospital or physician within the network and the usual 80% if not. Although there are no guarantees, some systems have realized several hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings in a given year by utilizing this method. Some employers that have signed with Health Advantage are the City of Ruston, Con Agra, Hunt Plywood, and DeSoto Parish School Board. A one year contract is being recommended with the provision for termination at any time at the Board's discretion. It was pointed out that Mr. Tuten did not approach Superintendent Cobb about this agreement, rather Dr. Cobb approached him. Ms. Pam Roy, Business Manager, mentioned that Health Advantage would be responsible for educating the employees. The Finance Committee recommended that this proposal be accepted as an opportunity to save the system health care costs. After much discussion and many questions, Mr. Wright suggested that the recommendation from the Committee be accepted by the full Board. Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board voted 10-0 to enter into a one year, P.P.O. contact with Health Advantage. Mr. Tuten, although in favor, abstained from voting.
Ms. Roy reported that April, 1996, was a really good month in sales tax receipts. The parish auditor recovered $596.96 during the month. This brought the total collected by auditors for the year to $93,726. The 1967 and 1979 sales tax collections for the same month were $343,407.27 which was up $60,385.17 over the same time last year. This is the largest increase this fiscal year and brings the yearly increase to $259,435.42. Collections in the 1993 sales tax fund also showed an increase of $36,231.03 with $206,043.96 being collected. These are up 17.6% over the same month last year and 8.3% for the year.
Ms. Roy called the Board's attention to the important, shaded line on the March, 1996, financial statement. The adult education fund is showing a negative balance at this time because that is an in and out fund. First the monies are spent and then reimbursement is requested. Fund balances will begin to decrease as we are using ad valorem monies collected earlier.
Mr. Owens brought the Board up-to-date on Ruston High School's auditorium repairs due to a fire December 5, 1995. He said that according to the architect, the construction documents should be completed sometime during the month of May. Four weeks would then be allowed for plan review by the fire marshall and health department and thirty days for bidding; therefore, a July bid is anticipated. Gary Fenner, the structural engineer engaged to assess the structural damage to the building, had reported to Mr. Owens that in essence while there was some structural damage to the roof, only a small portion would have to be removed and most of the existing steel could be used in reconstruction. He also reminded Mr. Owens that during his inspection he could only see the underside of the roof. Demolition or work being performed now may reveal additional damage, thereby requiring additional repairs. The architect should be completing the final, detailed plans in order to begin negotiations with the insurance company on a settlement. There were no questions or comments from the Board.
At the 3-5-96 meeting of the Board, authorization was given to advertise for bids on duplicating paper for the 96-97 school year. Mr. Owens recommended that the lowest bid meeting specifications be accepted.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tuten, seconded by Mr. Kessler, the Board unanimously voted to accept the bid of Mickey Mays Office Supply for $27,255.00 for duplicating paper for the 96-97 school year.
The Board adopted a resolution to authorize setting an election date for the renewal of the ten year Maintenance and Operation Tax in the Simsboro district at their 2-12-96 meeting. Superintendent Cobb reported that the renewal of the tax was approved by the voters on April 20, 1996, with a total of 285 FOR and 83 AGAINST. In order to comply with the Louisiana Election Code the Board must adopt a resolution canvassing the results of the election.
Upon a motion by Dr. Beasley, seconded by Mr. Abrahm, the Board voted by roll call 11 - 0 to approve a resolution providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the special election held in Simsboro School District No. 3 of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, on Saturday, April 20, 1996, to authorize the renewal of a special tax therein.
Mr. Dowling formally thanked the voters of Ward 3 for passing the tax renewal.
In the report of the Superintendent, Dr. Cobb called the Board's attention to:
1. the list of graduation dates and times and invited members to attend.
2. various items of interest he had included for informational purposes.
3. the fact that it's Teacher Appreciation Week and how fortunate Lincoln Parish is in that area.
After brief comments and questions, the meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
_______________________________________________________________
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary David Wright, President