LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, September 3, 1996 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, September 3, 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, Ms. Loyace Braggs, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Rob Shadoin, Mr. Allen Tuten (left the meeting early), and Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.
Absent: none.
President David Wright called the meeting to order and Ms. Braggs gave the invocation.
Mr. Wright welcomed special guests, members of the staff, and media. He led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Dr. Beasley, seconded by Ms. Braggs, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda as distributed.
Upon a motion by Mr. Barfield, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on August 6, 1996 as printed.
Superintendent Gerald Cobb recognized the Lincoln Parish Business Department and presented two plaques to Manager Pam Roy. For their comprehensive annual financial report they were awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. Again this year the business department received the Association of School Business Officials International Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting. Receipt of the awards, Dr. Cobb feels, validates a government with a measure of integrity and technical competence of the system's fiscal administration. Mr. Wright commended Ms. Roy and the business department for the honors they received and expressed appreciation for their good work.
Mr. Wright announced that this was the time specified for a public hearing for the proposed 96-97 budget. Opportunity was given for anyone present to express comments or ask questions regarding the budget. Hearing no questions or comments, Mr. Wright closed the public hearing time.
Ms. Roy reminded Board members that each year schools are allocated funds from the 1979 sales tax fund for library supplement ($1.75), classroom supplies ($3.00), office supplies and equipment repair/purchase ($3.00), student services ($3.00), debate and speech ($1.50), and kindergarten ($100 per teacher). These funds are distributed on a per pupil basis and sent directly to the schools to be disbursed by the principal. Ms. Roy recommended sending the per pupil allotments shown above which are the same as 95-96 amounts.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board unanimously voted to approve the allocations as outlined by Ms. Roy.
Ms. Barbara Kirkland, Federal Programs Supervisor, also said annually the parish applies and receives federal money under Title I of Public Law 81-874 which provides funds for general operation and maintenance. Eligibility is based upon the number of federally-connected children in the parish. To qualify, children must have a parent employed on federal property, on full-time active duty in any branch of the armed forces, or live on federal property. Approximately 300 student are identified each year which brings in about $10,000 in aid to be placed in the general fund to be used to defray extra costs that may be incurred as a result of these students moving into our system. The money has been used to support our testing program in recent years. She requested permission to apply for these funds.
Upon a motion by Ms. Braggs, seconded by Mr. Kessler, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to apply for Impact Aid funding for 96-97.
Ruston High School Principal, Mr. Randy Moore, said for the past four years Ruston High School has used facilities at Glen View Elementary for its girls' softball program. During this time, three regulation practice fields and a playing field complete with fencing and back stops have been constructed. The playing field has bleachers to seat 50 people. Presently the rest room facilities consist of two port-o-pots and the concession stand is a 8 x 12 portable building without plumbing. Participation in the girls' softball program has grown to the point that the present arrangement for rest room facilities and concessions is no longer adequate. To remedy this situation, he proposed the construction of a 21' x 25' building that would house rest room facilities, concessions, and a small equipment storage area. A floor plan was included in packets. The bid process, Board approval, and fire marshal review will take a minimum of 30 days. Estimated time of completion is 90 days from the date of approval by the Board. With Board approval at the September meeting, the facility should be complete for this years season. Director of Auxiliary Services Mr. Charles Owens answered questions including the estimated cost which is approximately $20,000. He recommended that the Board grant permission to advertise for bids for the construction of the facility.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. Dowling, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for the construction of a rest room/concession facility at Glen View Elementary.
The Finance Committee met just prior to the Board and the following report was presented by Mr. Tuten, Chairman:
1. Mr. Tuten reported to the Board that the first of two agenda items was the presentation of the beginning budget for review, discussion and vote as the official budget for 96-97. Required procedures, including publishing in the official journal and a time of public hearing, had been followed.
Mr. Tuten offered the motion, seconded by Mr. Mack, that the beginning budget for 96-97 be accepted. The Board unanimously voted if favor of the motion.
2. The last item of business from the Finance Committee was the annual levying of millages. Mr. Tuten summarized the millage information from the proposed resolution and the recommendation of the Committee that the millage amounts be approved as presented.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tuten, seconded by Mr. Shadoin, the Board upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee, unanimously voted by roll call vote to adopt the resolution levying millages on the 1996 assessment roll for Lincoln Parish as follows:
I. Parishwide
A. 4.95 Mills Constitutional Tax
B. 5.10 Mills Special Repair & Equipment Tax
C. 5.10 Mills Special Maintenance & Operation Tax
D. 12.00 Mills Parishwide Maintenance & Operation Tax
II. District Taxes - For Bond and Interest Fund
A. 17.00 Mills Ruston School District #1
B. 16.20 Mills Simsboro School District #3
C. -0- Mills Dubach School District #5
D. 43.00 Mills Choudrant School District #6
III. District Taxes - Maintenance and Operation
A. 3.01 Mills Ruston School District #1
B. 2.98 Mills Simsboro School District #3
C. 3.02 Mills Dubach School District #5
Voting by roll call vote for the above motion was: Mr. Billy Abrahm, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mrs. Loyace Braggs, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Rob Shadoin, Mr. Allen Tuten, Mr. Calvin Wilkerson, and Mr. David Wright.
Voting against the motion: None
Absent and not voting: None
The Board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Personnel Committee agenda items were discussed:
Upon a motion by Mr. Tuten, seconded by Mr. Shadoin, the Board unanimously voted to approve the following recommendations. Mr. Ronnie Suggs, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, presented items 1. - 3., School Food Service Supervisor, Ms. Brenda Theodos, presented 4. - 6., and Mr. Howard Whitlock, Transportation Supervisor, presented 7. - 9.
1. Resignation of the following:
Millie Hooper, teacher at Choudrant Elementary, effective August 7, 1996.
Billy Gillum, P.E. at Hillcrest, effective August 15, 1996.
Paula Taylor, teacher at I. A. Lewis, effective August 9, 1996.
Vanessa Wilson, alternative teacher at Lincoln Center, effective August 22, 1996.
Demise Loyd, suspension/expulsion room and coach at Ruston High, effective August 6, 1996.
Lisa Hanks, language arts teacher at Ruston Junior High, effective August 15, 1996.
Mary Johnson, special ed. aide at Lincoln Center, effective August 20, 1996.
Johnathan Miller, special ed. aide at Ruston High, effective August 13, 1996.
2. Rest and recuperation sabbatical leave request for the 96-97 school year, effective September 19, 1996, for Leslie Gray who is a special ed. teacher at I. A. Lewis. She will use sick leave until September 19. Mr. Suggs said this meets all guidelines.
3. Employment of the following persons all effective August, 21, 1996, unless otherwise noted:
Monabeth Milliron, teacher at Choudrant Elementary, to replace Susan Jones, sabbatical.
Pam Pruden, replacing science teacher at Dubach High Darlene Caver, who is out on sick leave.
Leigh Ann Horton, P. E. teacher at Hico, to replace J. P. Dunbar who was granted a 1/2 year sabbatical.
Lee Anne Hamm, replacing P. E. teacher at Hillcrest Billy Gillum, who resigned.
Sharon Bentley, teacher at I. A. Lewis, to replace Paula Taylor who resigned.
Karen Anderson, replacing special ed. teacher at Lincoln Center Leigh Traylor, who was granted a 1/2 year sabbatical.
Katina Rhodes, alternative teacher at Lincoln Center, to replace Vanessa Wilson who resigned.
Doug Pierrelee, replacing elementary teacher at Ruston Elementary Vickie Wheelis who is on sabbatical.
Jerald Kennedy, suspension/expulsion room and coach at Ruston High effective August 1, 1996, to replace Demise Loyd who resigned.
Elizabeth Carlton, replacing language arts teacher at Ruston Junior High Lisa Hanks who resigned.
Eldonte Osborne, social studies/coach at Ruston Junior High, to replace Brad Smith who transferred.
Kamala Roan, replacing language arts teacher at Ruston Junior High Jan Norwood who resigned.
4. As a point of reference, effective August 7, 1996, school food service clerk at Hillcrest, Paulette Davis, has transferred to Choudrant High to replace Chris Griffin who resigned.
5. Resignation of the following school food service personnel effective August 5, 1996:
Marilyn Bonner as clerk at Alma J. Brown
Janice Seaman as clerk at Ruston High
6. Employment of the following school food service personnel:
Lena Richardson as clerk at Alma J. Brown effective August 7, 1996, replacing Marilyn Bonner who resigned.
Remona Turner as clerk at Hillcrest effective August 7, 1996, replacing Paulette Davis who transferred.
Patricia Dade as technician at Hillcrest effective August 21, 1996, replacing Doretha Gipson who retired.
Teresa Kay as technician at Hillcrest effective August 21, 1996, replacing Henrietta Slaton who retired.
7. Retirement of Otis Hill as a bus driver in the Grambling area effective August 9, 1996.
8. Resignation of the following:
Annette Taylor, bus driver in the Ruston area, effective August 22, 1996.
Perry Weatherman, bus driver in the Ruston area, effective August 12, 1996.
Greg Young, bus driver in the Ruston area, effective August 22, 1996.
9. Employment of the following bus drivers effective August 21, 1996:
Sue Bowden in the Grambling area replacing Otis Hill, retired.
Matt David in the Ruston area replacing Greg Young, resigned.
Robby Griffin in the Ruston area replacing Perry Weatherman, resigned.
Terri Simmons in the Ruston area replacing Annette Taylor, resigned.
Because of a Board member's request at a previous meeting, Ms. Barbara Kirkland gave an update on the parish's agriscience programs. Successful programs have been serving students at Choudrant, Simsboro, and Dubach High Schools for a number of years. Using Carl Perkins vocational funds, these programs have been updated with new equipment and instructional materials to meet the changing needs of students. An agriscience program was implemented during the 95-96 school year at Ruston High School with an estimated student interest of a least 3 classes. Unexpected enrollment resulted in a full-time program for the first year, with the addition of a second instructor for the 96-97 school year. Following this update, she introduced the agriscience teachers and asked them to share briefly about their individual programs. Those sharing and their high schools were Ricky Edmiston - Choudrant, Doug Perry - Simsboro, James Sandifer - new this year at Dubach, Steve Baker - new this year at Ruston, and Track Kavanaugh - Ruston.
Mr. Tuten left the meeting during the agriscience reports.
Dr. Cobb feels that we are fortunate to have the proper person in charge of our vocational program. He notified the Board that Ms. Kirkland had recently been selected as the State Outstanding Vocational Administrator for this division and was elected as President for next year.
Mr. Wright commended the ag. teachers and encouraged them to continue their work with relevant activities for the students.
Secondary Supervisor, Dr. Charles Scriber, told the Board that in the Spring of 1992 the Louisiana Legislature mandated drastic changes to school systems' evaluation plans. Included were provisions to strengthen and make more uniform the local teacher evaluation practices within Louisiana Public Schools. Our people have done an excellent job implementing the evaluation program as evidenced by the monitoring visit conducted by the State Department in May of 1996.
At a recent meeting in Baton Rouge, Dr. Cobb said it was mentioned that the state evaluation team had recently completed their assessment of the state and there were only two systems in the State that had no violations. Lincoln Parish was one of the two. He congratulated Dr. Scriber and his people for a job well done.
Ms. Pam Roy told the Board that $188,611.20 was recovered by the parish auditor during the month of August, 1996. This is the result of several audits and the settlement of a law suit that was pending. Of course, this is a one time collection, she said, and not to be expected. The 1967 and 1979 sales tax collections for the same month were $208,831.67. This is a $60,889.52 decrease over the same month last year, or an approximate 29% decrease. For the year, those collections are down $57,518.25 which is a 1.7% decrease. The sales tax office attributes this decrease due to the fact that they did not get their check this month from the sale of vehicles in the parish. They project that collections should even out and it isn't as bad as it looks. Collections for the month in the 1993 fund were $125,298.75. Again, that is a $36,533.65 decrease from the same month last year and the percentages are the same, 29% for the month and 1.7% for the year.
Ms. Roy went over the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1996. She pointed out a few items of particular interest including an excess in the general fund of $111,000. Included in that figure are insurance monies in the amount of $250,000 to take care of some of the expenses on the Ruston High School auditorium. Approximately $150,000 of that has been spent, so actually about $100,000 of that excess is insurance money that is going to be spent. That makes the general fund figure a little misleading.
Mr. Ronnie Suggs again reported an excellent opening of school with a minimal number of phone calls largely due, he felt, to Mr. Whitlock and his staff in the transportation department. He commended the supervisors and principals for their work during the summer because that is when plans are made. He especially commended the teachers and other staff members who come August 21 and makes everything fit together and work. Numbers are a little down at this time over the same period last year with 6,840 enrolled as of August 30, 1996. He estimates that the parish will end up with approximately 7,000 students which is about 80 less than last year. The parish is coming from a high enrollment of 7,155 in 92-93. Figures have decreased a little each year for the past four or five years. He shared some factors he felt contributed to the smaller numbers.
Dr. Cobb said pending Board approval, the annual Lincoln Parish Academic Awards Banquet has been scheduled for Monday, October 21, 1996 at the Ruston Civic Center, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The guest speaker for the banquet will be Mr. Cecil Picard who is the State Superintendent of Education.
Upon a motion by Dr. Beasley, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to approve the date of October 21, 1996 for the Academic Awards Banquet and Mr. Cecil Picard as guest speaker.
Dr. Scriber reminded the Board that at their August 6 Regular Meeting revised suspension and expulsion policies and new faculty and student use of the Internet policies were distributed. At the suggestion of a Board member, a last page was added to the faculty use of the Internet policy listing security measures to be taken. He recommended that the Board approved the revisions and additions to the policy manual.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Kessler, the Board unanimously voted to approved the revised suspension and expulsion policies and the addition of the faculty and student use of the Internet policies.
In compliance with the mandates of Act 45 of the 1994 Third Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature and the Office of Civil Rights, Dr. Cobb said school systems shall establish a Discipline Policy Committee. The Policy Committee shall periodically review all school level discipline policies and make recommendations for possible revisions to such policies by November 8, 1996. The following list of Lincoln Parish Discipline Policy Review Committee members was presented for informational purposes only. No action was required.
Six (6) Classroom Teachers Marilyn Ferguson Elementary
Cynthia McMurry Elementary
Ann Thigpen Elementary
Sue Gullatt Junior High
Ruby Fields High School
Amy Talley High School
One (1) Special Education Teacher Philip Cardwell
Two (2) Guidance Counselors Helen Hall
Glenda Howard
Three (3) Principals Foster Harris Elementary
Howard Brown High School
Randy Moore High School
Two (2) Assistant Principals David Rogers Junior High
David Crowe High School
One (1) Bus Driver Will Roane
One (1) Board Member Loyace Braggs
Four (4) Parents Sharon Franklin
Joe Henderson
Skip Russell
Denene Stringfellow
One (1) Superintendent's Designee Ronnie Suggs
Chairman Rob Shadoin
Chairman Wright recommended that the Board approve a resolution honoring the late Mr. Reuben Gaulden who served as a master teacher/administrator at the Grambling State University Laboratory School for many years.
Upon a motion by Dr. Beasley, seconded by Ms. Braggs, the Board unanimously voted to approve the resolution honoring the late Mr. Reuben Gaulden.
In the Report of the Superintendent, Dr. Cobb called attention to the list of parish-wide Open Houses at the schools with the addition of Dubach High School at 7:00 p.m. on October 14. He also noted that Board members had a form from the Louisiana School Boards Association's requesting information regarding interest in a golf tournament which needs to be completed and returned.
After Mr. Wright welcomed a special visitor, Mr. Uzoma Moore, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
_____________________________________________________________________
Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary David Wright, President