LINCOLN PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

Ruston, Louisiana

REGULAR SESSION

Wednesday, January 22, 1997   12:30 p.m.

The Lincoln Parish School Board met in Regular Session on Wednesday, January 22, 1997 at 12:30 p.m. at Simsboro School.  Members present were Mr. David Wright, Mr. Billy Abrahm, Mr. Wayne Barfield, Dr. Marty Beasley, Mr. Curtis Dowling, Mr. Jim Kessler, Mr. George Mack, Mr. Joe Mitcham, Mr. Rob Shadoin, Mr. Allen Tuten, and Mr. Calvin Wilkerson.

Absent was Ms. Loyace Braggs.

Prior to the business meeting, board members enjoyed a delicious lunch in the school cafeteria.

President Wright called the meeting to order and the invocation was given by Mr. Shadoin.  Mr. Wright led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.  He welcomed guests and staff to the meeting.

At the suggestion of Mr. Wright, Mr. Kessler moved, and Mr. Dowling seconded the motion, that the agenda be adopted with one change:  New Business be moved from item #8 to item #5.  This was passed by a unanimous vote.

Principal of Simsboro School, Mr. Harry Jones, welcomed everyone to the little school in the country.  He issued an open invitation to the Board to stop in and visit anytime.  Mr. Jones shared the following facts of which he was very proud:  1) An award was recently received from the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) for 4 years of growth on the LEAP; girls' basketball team is 26 - 8 this year and boys are 32 -5; and the school's average ACT last year was 20.6.  He attributes these athletic and academic achievements to the concerted effort made by the school and community.

With regrets upon a motion by Mr. Mack, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board unanimously voted to accept the letter of resignation of Ward 1-E Board Member, Ms. Loyace Braggs.  Ms. Braggs' resignation for health reasons, effective January 7, 1997 was submitted to the Secretary of State's Office and then forwarded to the Board.

Upon a motion by Mr. Tuten, seconded by Mr. Shadoin, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the following Proclamation calling for a special election to fill the vacancy in the office of school board member from Ward 1, District E:

                                                         P R O C L A M A T I O N

            I, David Wright, President of the School Board of the Parish of Lincoln, State of Louisiana, do hereby announce and proclaim that the Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, School Board does hereby and herewith order a special election to fill the vacancy in the office of School Board member from Ward 1, District E, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.

            Be it further proclaimed and announced that under the authority of Louisiana Revised Statute 18:402, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority supplemental thereto, a special primary election be, and the same is hereby called and ordered to be held in Ward 1, District E, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, School Board, on Saturday, October 18, 1997; and a special general election, if necessary, is hereby called and ordered to be held in Ward 1, District E, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, School Board, on Saturday, November 15, 1997; all for the purpose of filling the vacancy in the office of School Board member, Ward 1, District E, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.

            It is further proclaimed and announced that in accordance with Louisiana Revised Statute 18:467, as amended, the qualifying period for candidates in the special election, hereinabove called and ordered, shall open on Wednesday, August 13, 1997, and shall close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 15, 1997.

            Thus done and signed at Ruston, Louisiana, on this 22nd day of January, 1997.

ATTEST:

David Wright, President                                           Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary

Mr. Wright explained the procedure to be used in selecting a replacement for Ms. Braggs and indicated that members should look in their portfolios for a list of those who had called the Superintendent's office to indicate their interest in the Ward 1 -E Board position. 

Following some discussion, Mr. Mack nominated Ms. Annie Brown. 

Mr. Tuten nominated Mr. Fred Blake.

Mr. Barfield nominated Mr. Otha Anders. 

Mr. Wright indicated that nominations could also be made of qualified persons not on the list. 

Mr. Barfield moved that nominations to fill the Ward 1-E slot cease, Mr. Dowling seconded the motion, and the Board unanimously voted in favor of the motion.

Mr. Wright asked for a vote of those in favor of Mr. Otha Anders.  Voting for Mr. Otha Anders by a show of hands vote:  Mr. Abrahm, Mr. Barfield, Mr. Dowling, and Mr. Kessler. 

Voting for Mr. Fred Blake by a show of hands vote:  Mr. Mitcham, Mr. Shadoin, and Mr. Tuten. 

Voting for Ms. Annie Brown by a show of hands vote:  Dr. Beasley, Mr. Mack, Mr. Wilkerson, and Mr. Wright.

This resulted in four votes for Mr. Anders, four for Ms. Brown, and three for Mr. Blake.  Mr. Wright indicated that another show of hands vote would be taken with candidates being the two with the most votes, Mr. Anders and Ms. Brown. 

Voting in favor of Mr. Anders:  Mr. Abrahm, Mr. Barfield, Mr. Dowling, Mr. Kessler, Mr. Mitcham, Mr. Shadoin, and Mr. Tuten.

Voting for Ms. Brown:  Dr. Beasley, Mr. Mack, Mr. Wilkerson, and Mr. Wright. 

This vote resulted in seven for Mr. Anders and four for Ms. Brown.

Dr. Beasley moved that the entire Board give Mr. Otha Anders a vote of confidence by making him their unanimous choice as a replacement for Ms. Braggs.  Mr. Barfield seconded the motion and the Board unanimously agreed.

President Wright expressed his appreciation to the Board for the magnanimous way business is handled and for extending their vote of confidence to Mr. Anders.  Mr. Anders thanked the Board.

To complete the items of New Business, Mr. Wright read a resolution which contained the following:         

                                                                  RESOLUTION

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:  That Mr. Otha Anders, resident of Ward 1, District E, be appointed to serve in this capacity until the voters select their representative at the polls.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  That copies of this resolution be sent by certified mail to the Secretary of State's Office in Baton Rouge and to the Clerk of Court's Office in Lincoln Parish, Ruston, Louisiana.

Upon a motion by Mr. Kessler, seconded by Mr. Abrahm, the Board unanimously voted to adopt the Resolution appointing Mr. Otha Anders to serve as Board Member from Ward 1-E until the election.

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. and Mr. Howard Whitlock, Transportation Supervisor, presented 4.-5.:

                              1.   Resignation of Richard Hinton, Child Welfare and Attendance Officer, effective June 6, 1997.

                                    Resignation of Betty Price, effective January 17, 1997 as librarian at Hillcrest.

                              2.   Retirement of the following teachers effective January 17, 1997:

                                    Darlene Caver, science at Dubach High.

                                    Ann Andrews, social studies/science at Ruston Junior High School.

                              4.   Employment of the following:

                                    Barbara Hammond, effective January 21, 1997 as librarian at Hillcrest Elementary replacing Betty Price who resigned.

                                    Elizabeth Hubbard, effective December 12, 1996 in a new special education aide position at Cypress Springs.

                              5.   Resignation of Ruston bus driver, Matt David, effective January 20, 1997.

                              6.   Employment, effective January 21, 1997 of the following bus drivers in the Ruston area:

                                    David Ficklin, replacing Charles Holloway who retired.

                                    Todd Lary, replacing Matt David who resigned.

Upon a motion by Mr. Barfield, seconded by Mr. Mitcham, the Board unanimously voted to approve the requests and recommendations.

Secondary Supervisor, Dr. Charles Scriber, gave a lengthy report on curriculum alignment, new math graduation requirements, and assessments required by the State of Louisiana.  In the past, Louisiana schools have been using state-written curriculum guides.  Due to changes from the State Department, local systems are now required to write their own documents.  Although Lincoln Parish had begun doing so a couple of years earlier, he said, they have recently joined with 14 other parishes in north central and northeast Louisiana to form a consortium.  Using the established guidelines, they have begun writing curriculum standards documents in the subject areas of math, science, language arts, social studies, the arts, and foreign language for grades K through 12.  Teachers involved in this consortium are being paid by LEARN grant money and are working in three groups:  K-4, 5-8, and 9-12.  Math is presently being completed with science and language arts to be written this spring and summer and the remainder to be completed by the fall of 1998.

Beginning with the 97-98 school year, Dr. Scriber said, Louisiana high schools will have many options related to mathematics courses.  Based on the belief that mathematics is best understood in a realistic and integrated setting and that effective mathematics instruction incorporates a variety of methods, strategies, and tools, new math courses will be added to the curriculum.  Although three units of math will still be required for graduation, a maximum of twelve course offerings will provide more options for students, and especially the non-college bound students.  The courses offered will actually provide four distinct paths:  traditional, applied, integrated, and Algebra, Part 1 and 2.

Dr. Scriber informed the Board that in order to measure a student's progress and to complement the content standards being written, assessment frameworks have been developed.  These assessment frameworks are designed to lead to criterion referenced tests (CRTs) at grades 4, 8, and at three secondary grades.  These tests are commonly referred to as the LEAP (Louisiana Educational Assessment Program) tests which are currently being given in grades 3, 5, 7, and at the secondary level.  The secondary tests are called Graduate Exit Exams (GEE).  Legislation enacted in 1996 specifies norm-referenced testing (NRT) at grades 4, 6, 8, and three grades at the secondary level; criterion referenced tests were again specified to occur at grades 3, 5, 7 and the secondary level.  However, since the benchmarks for the content standards have been established at grades 4, 8, and the secondary level; it was approved by the BESE to test at these levels (4, 8, and secondary) with the LEAP tests.  The NRTs, e.g., California Achievement Test (CAT), will move to grades 3, 5, 7, and three grades at the secondary level.  Lincoln Parish will continue to exceed the requirements and test all 1-8 grades using the CAT.

Mr. Wright pointed out that members received a list of Committee Assignments for 1997 which he compiled from their committee assignment requests forms from the January 7 meeting.  This was adopted by acclamation with Mr. Otha Anders' name being inserted into Ms. Loyace Braggs' slots.

In a report of the Superintendent, Dr. Cobb:

                      Said forms were in portfolios of those who had not responded to previous requests for plans regarding the Louisiana School Board Association's upcoming convention.  He requested that those forms be completed and turned in to his office as soon as possible so reservations could be made.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:35 p.m.

___________________________________    _______________________________

Gerald W. Cobb, Secretary                                    David Wright, President