LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Ruston, Louisiana
REGULAR SESSION
Tuesday, October 1, 1996 6:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 1, 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 (arrived after the meeting began), Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Joe Mitcham, and Mr. Allen Tuten.
Absent were Mr. Rob Shadoin and Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.
President David Wright called the meeting to order and Dr. Beasley gave the invocation. Mr. Wright welcomed special guests, members of the press, and staff. He led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the agenda, as amended, with the addition of one Request: Permission to advertise for bids for a utility van.
Upon a motion by Mr. Dowling, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Session held on September 3, 1996 as printed.
Secondary Supervisor, Dr. Charles Scriber, reviewed the background information and selection process on the Teacher of the Year program. Each of the following 96-97 parish winners were presented with a plaque of appreciation on behalf of the Board for their excellence and hard work:
Kathy Sims - second grade teacher at Simsboro - elementary division
Jerrilene Washington - Ruston Junior High teacher - junior high division
Paula Pardue - Ruston High teacher - high school division
Mr. Wright commended the Teachers of the Year and encouraged them to keep up their good work.
Three senior students who have been named as National Merit Semi-Finalists were recognized by the Ruston High School Principal, Mr. Randy Moore. They were:
Brooke Anderson
Shannon Callens
Molly McMahone
He reminded the Board that these students scored higher than 99% of the seniors in the country who took the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last fall. He also indicated that in the 40 years that this award has been made available, over 140 students from Ruston High have been awarded. Over 75% of the high schools in Louisiana, he said, have never produced 1 National Merit Finalist. He attributed Ruston High's large number to the students, parents, all of the schools in the parish who prepare the students so well, and finally to the Board and Central Office for the leadership that is provided. Superintendent Gerald Cobb presented plaques to the students on behalf of the Lincoln Parish School Board.
Mr. Charles Owens, Director of Auxiliary Services, said when Ruston Junior High School was build in 1986 there were no adequate provisions for parent pick-up. Recognizing this deficit in design, plans were drawn for the construction of a covered area at the south entrance of the building. He recommended that the Board grant permission to build a covered pick up area which will run more than 120 linear feet and will be constructed of galvanized metal to match the existing structure. The cost is estimated to be between $15,000 and $18,000.
Upon a motion by Dr. Beasley, seconded by Mr. Mack, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for the construction of a covered parent pick up area at Ruston Junior High School.
Mr. Owens then reported that the van in use at the Central Office is 18 years old with approximately 245,000 miles. This van is used shuttle books, janitorial supplies, teaching materials, and other items to our 17 schools. He recommended that the Board grant permission to advertise for bids for a new van.
Upon a motion by Mr. Mack, seconded by Mr. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to grant permission to advertise for bids for a new shuttle van.
The Board served as a Committee of the Whole and the following Personnel Committee agenda items were discussed:
Mr. Ronnie Suggs, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, presented items 1.-3., Mr. Howard Whitlock, Transportation Supervisor, presented 4.-5., School Food Service Supervisor, Ms. Brenda Theodos, presented 6., and Mr. Charles Owens presented 7. Following these presentations, upon a motion by Mr. Barfield, seconded by Dr. Beasley, the Board unanimously voted to approve the following recommendations:
1. Resignation of the following:
J. P. Dunbar, P. E. teacher at Hico Elementary, effective September 6, 1996.
Oscar Epps, counselor at I. A. Lewis, effective September 3, 1996.
Carolyn Smith, computer proctor at Ruston Elementary, effective September 11, 1996.
2. Sabbatical leave requests for the second semester of 96-97, effective January 16, 1997 for the following:
Kathy League from Ruston Elementary
Suzy Holstead from Ruston Elementary
Mr. Suggs said these meet all state and local guidelines.
3. Employment of Corey Howard as a special education aide at Ruston High, effective September 4, 1996 to replace Jonathan Miller, resigned.
4. Resignation of Pauline Johns as a bus aide in the Ruston area effective August 22, 1996.
Ms. Braggs arrived at the meeting.
5. Employment of Elsie McGuire as a bus aide in the Ruston area, effective September 19, 1996, replacing Pauline Johns who resigned.
6. Employment of Robert Curry as technician at Grambling High effective August 23, 1996 replacing Lorenzo Williams who resigned.
7. Employment of the following custodians effective October 1, 1996:
Dennis Woods replacing Dennis Gipson at Cypress Springs
James McCallister in a new position at Ruston Junior High
Ms. Pam Roy, Business Manager, told the Board that $376.70 was recovered by audit during the month of September, 1996, which brings the yearly amount recovered by auditors to $197,029.90. The 1967 and 1979 sales tax collections for the same month were $325,875.07. The difference of $21,823.84 is a 6.7% increase over the same month last year but is not enough to make up for the deficit of the previous month. Collections for the year are down $35,694.41 in those two funds. That is about a 1% decrease. Collections for the month in the 1993 fund were $195,524.65 which is an increase of $13,094.38 over the same month last year. That fund is down $21,416.64 for the year. The percentages are the same. She mentioned a new law passed by the Legislature which effects sales tax on leased cars. In the past when a car has been leased by a business, the Board has received sales tax on the purchase price of that car. Effective July 1, that will be changed to the imposition of a 1/2% excise tax. She is unsure of the effect that will have on sales tax collections or how the excise tax is going to be distributed.
Ms. Roy went over the financial report for August, 1996. She called attention to the fund balances in each of the accounts. Balances have begun to decrease in the general fund, 5 mill, ad valorem and all of the maintenance and operation funds that are driven by tax collections. This will continue until January when the taxes are collected.
Lincoln Parish has received, for the second year, a Goals 2000 grant of approximately $140,000, Dr. Scriber shared. In Louisiana the Goals 2000 grant is called the LEARN Grant. He reminded the Board that this is a competitive grant funded by Congress and distributed by the Louisiana Department of Education. For 96-97 the money will be spent in the following areas: installing computer labs at Choudrant High and Ruston Junior High, buying equipment for the second stage of the Internet installation, continuing the suspension/expulsion room, aligning core curriculum by use of state curriculum frameworks, developing teachers professionally, and purchasing supplies for the schools. In addition to the $140,000 School Improvement Grant, the parish has also received ten $1,000 teacher grants. These were also competitive and were written by the teachers. The teachers awarded the grants and their schools are as follows:
Glenda White/Carolyn Wiggins A. E. Phillips
Dr. Barbara Smith Ruston High
Bobby Adams Ruston Junior High
Ann Andrews Ruston Junior High
Mandy Bain/Kim Billberry Ruston Junior High
Mymie Caldwell/Sue Gullatt/ Gail Ruston Junior High
Sullivan/Sandra Bice
Linda Dick Ruston Junior High
Pam Loe/Dwanna Schmidt Ruston Junior High
Jeananne Shows Ruston Junior High
Jeri Washington Ruston Junior High
Dr. Cobb said, "This is outstanding." Dr. Beasley expressed the Board's thanks for "making their job easier and doing the best you can do for your students."
Dr. Scriber reminded the Board that he shared at their August meeting that Lincoln Parish would be participating in Netday 96 Project. On October 19 volunteers will gather at each of the schools and wire at least 5 classrooms and the library for the Internet. Sponsors, technicians, and volunteers have agreed to give of their money, expertise, and time to make this a reality. Principals and school site coordinators have worked extremely hard to organize and plan for this event. Diagrams have been drawn, room locations have been selected, wiring guides have been printed, and a technical meeting has been called to train volunteers and technicians. At this point, he said, everything is right on schedule. Even the National Guard, thanks to Sergeant Brown, have been called out and are available to help on Netday. He expressed his thanks for Mr. David Darland, the Adopt-a-School Chairman, who sent out approximately 200 letters encouraging participation of local businesses. He also thanked those businesses who have agreed to sponsor a school or schools.
In Mr. Charles Owens' background information sent to the Board, he reported that in late August the Office of the State Fire Marshal conducted a thorough inspection of all parish facilities including Ruston High School. During the course of the investigation, numerous code violations were cited. The violations at the majority of the facilities, Mr. Owens felt, were easily corrected. Those at Ruston High were not, due to the architecture of the structure. In his opinion, the recent fire at the school prompted the strict enforcement of fire door requirements which comprised the majority of the violations. There are approximately 36 doors leading to or from stairwells or placed at strategic points to prevent the spread of fire at Ruston High School. The Fire Marshal has required that these be automated to close without human attendance during a fire. A poll vote was taken during the week of September 24 to ascertain the Board's desires concerning declaring an emergency in order to expedite compliance with the Fire Marshal's requirements. Nine board members voted in favor of declaring an emergency and Mr. Owens was unable to contact the remaining three, Mr. Barfield, Mr. Dowling, and Mr. Wright. It was his recommendation that the Board ratify the poll vote. President Wright introduced this agenda item and asked if there were any questions or comments. There were none.
Upon a motion by Mr. Abrahm, seconded by Mr. Tuten, the Board unanimously voted to ratify the poll vote declaring an emergency at Ruston High in order to expedite compliance with the State Fire Marshal's requirements concerning the fire doors.
In the Report of the Superintendent he reminded the Board that the annual Academic Awards Banquet is scheduled for Monday, October 21, at 7:00 p.m.
After brief comments, the meeting was adjourned at 6:43 p.m.
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Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary David Wright, President