PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2000
The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in regular session at the Concordia Parish School Board Office, in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Tuesday, December 14, 2000, at five-thirty (5:30) o'clock p.m. The meeting was called to order by the Honorable Mike Grantham, President, who declared after prayer by Mr. Raymond Riley and the Pledge, that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.
Members present were Mr. Mike Grantham, Mr. Darrell Crofford, Mr. Don Joseph, Ms. Martha Rabb, Mr. Lynn White, Rev. Johnnie Brown, Mr. Raymond Riley, Sr. and Ms. Mary Campbell.
Member absent was Mr. Ricky Raven.
Superintendent Peterman recognized the recipients of the Hydroelectric Citizenship Awards for the month of November.
Ferriday Junior High School 7th Grade Sherika Scales
8th Grade Ebony Prater
Vidalia Junior High School 7th Grade Devin Leigh Guillot
8th Grade Christy Morgan Corley
Monterey High School 7th Grade Whitney Roark
8th Grade Will Sanders
Ridgecrest School 7th Grade April Love Walker
It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Ms. Rabb and carried to enter into Executive Session at 5:35 p.m.
It was moved by Mr. Riley, seconded by Rev. Brown and carried to return to Regular Session at 6:05 p.m.
Mr. Howard Jackson, Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance, presented awards to the schools having the highest average daily attendance for the months of September, October and November.
September October November
Ridgecrest School, First Place Ferriday Lower, First Place Ridgecrest School, First Place
Ferriday Lower, Second Place Ferriday Upper, Second Place Vidalia Upper, Second Place
Monterey School, Third Place Ridgecrest School, Second Place Ferriday Upper, Second Place
Vidalia Upper, Third Place Vidalia Junior, Third Place
Mr. Riley requested that the minutes of November 7, 2000, reflect the opinion of the Board Attorney Mr. Norman Magee concerning the disposal of portable buildings. The opinion is to be included in the official minute book.
It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. White and carried to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 7, 2000.
Mr. Tom O'Neal, Director of Business Affairs, reviewed the financial statement. It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Riley and carried to approve invoices in the amount of $1,838,707 for the month of November.
It was moved by Mr. Riley, seconded by Mr. Crofford to set January 16, 2001, as the regular meeting date with all other dates to be set at the January meeting.
It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. White and carried to approve the second reading of the following policies:
JBC - School Admission
DFI - Lease of School Lands
IDDFA - Technology Assistive Devices for Disabled Students
It was moved by Mr. White, seconded by Mr. Crofford to open bids for portable buildings. The bids were as follows:
Bidder Building 101 Building 102 Building 103 Building 104
Windell Millicks No Bid No Bid $101.00 $101.00
Concordia Sheriff's Dept. No Bid No Bid $1,501.00 $1,501.00
Ronald Whittington $301.00 No Bid No Bid No Bid
It was moved by Mr. Joseph, seconded by Mr. Crofford and carried 8-1 with Ms. Rabb abstaining, to accept the bids.
There was lengthy discussion concerning the disposal of the building not bid upon. Mr. Riley requested that the building be donated to Mr. Windell Millicks. Mr. Riley also questioned if the building could be sold to Mr. Millicks for the amount which he bid on Building 103 and 104.
Ms. Neeva Sibley, Principal, Monterey School, requested that the building remain at her school until the new classrooms are constructed.
It was moved by Mr. Riley, seconded by Mr. Crofford and carried 8-1 with Mr. Joseph voting no, to donate Building #102 to Concordia Youth and Adult Program at the end of the school term if it is legal.
It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mrs. Campbell and carried to approve the following resolution:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the Concordia Parish School Board is concerned about the state wide shortage of applicants in the areas of counseling, administration, and supervision; and
WHEREAS, present Board of Elementary and Secondary Education policy excludes tuition exemption payments for these areas of certification; and
WHEREAS, the Board feels that assistance in funding the required course work would be an incentive to encourage teachers to acquire certification in these areas;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Concordia Parish School Board fully supports a request to ask the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to review the eligibility requirements for granting tuition exemption to those pursuing certification in the areas of counseling, administration, and supervision.
It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Riley and carried to approve the following resolution:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, teacher salaries in Louisiana have long fallen short of the SREB average, and
WHEREAS, exploring methods to secure the funding necessary to raise teacher salaries to this regional average was a major objective of the School Finance Commission, which was appointed by the governor and comprised of members of the Louisiana Legislature, the business community, and educational groups at all levels, and
WHEREAS, the Minimum Foundation Program Formula presented by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to the Louisiana Legislature for school year 2000-01 originally incorporated the School Finance Commission's recommendation to increase teacher salaries, and
WHEREAS, although the MFP finally adopted by the Louisiana Legislature for the 2000-01 school year provided full funding for the first time, it did not include additional money for teacher salaries, and
WHEREAS, the proposed constitutional amendments which would have provided additional state revenue designated to provide pay raises for K-12 and post-secondary teaching personnel failed to gain voter approval on November 7, 2000, and
WHEREAS, legislation had been introduced in recent legislative sessions to fund salary increases for elementary and secondary school personnel by redirecting dollars from within the MFP, and
WHEREAS, redirecting existing MFP monies to fund teacher pay raises would seriously strain local resources in many parishes, catastrophically for some, and
WHEREAS, a well qualified, adequately compensated teaching corps is absolutely essential to providing a quality education to our children, thereby fulfilling our educational mission.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Concordia Parish School Board, hereby urgently requests the Louisiana Legislature to preserve the MFP as structured by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and to refrain from redirecting funds within the MFP to fund teacher salary increases.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Concordia Parish School Board does hereby implore Governor Foster and the Louisiana Legislature to actively pursue all funding possibilities and provide the additional funds needed to raise teacher salaries to the SREB average.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, III, the members of the Louisiana Legislature, and the members of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
It was moved by Mr. Joseph, seconded by Mr. White and carried to hear Mr. Gary Clark discuss the Energy Education Program.
It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Joseph and carried to approve Energy Education's Proposal for the Concordia Parish School System.
Mr. O'Neal gave a brief history concerning the distribution of the 13th check. It was moved by Mr. White, seconded by Mr. Joseph and carried to designate the 13th check as follows:
Certified Employees $400.00
Non-certified Employees $200.00
Part-time Employees $100.00
Superintendent Peterman reviewed the Ad Valorem tax. He explained that the Board wanted to do a little extra for the employees if possible. The Superintendent explained that the loan was structured so that money was available to do something extra for employees for this year only.
It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Ms. Campbell and Ms. Rabb to designate the Ad Valorem check as follows:
December 2000 payment $500 full time employees/$250 part time employees
December 2001-2004 payments $400 full time employees/$200 part time employees
It was moved by Mr. Joseph, seconded by Mr. Crofford and carried to add the Addendum to Personnel items to the Personnel section of the Agenda.
It was recommended by Ms. Campbell that the personnel items be accepted in global. It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Riley and carried to approve the personnel items in global.
Retirements
James E. Lee, Principal, FJHS, effective January 3, 2001
Sue Butler, Teacher, VUES, effective January 19, 2001
Anne Dyer, Librarian, VJHS, effective January 17, 2001
Resignations
Gertrude Barber, Teacher, VUES, effective January 17, 2001
Julie Rogers, Teacher Assistant, VUES, effective December 15, 2000
Christopher Fussell, Teacher, MHS, effective January 1, 2001
Wanda Temple, School Bus Operator, effective December 20, 2000
Extended Leave
Phyllis B. Ellis, SFS, Technician, FLES, effective November 10, 2000 through January 3, 2001
Carol Williams, Teacher, FUES, effective November 27, 2000 through January 19, 2001
Hugh Burts, Teacher, VHS, effective November 29, 2000 through December 8, 2000
Appointments
Christy Welch, Teacher Assistant, VUES, effective December 18, 2000
Stacy Strong, Teacher, VUES, effective January 22, 2001
Margaret Mays, Teacher, VUES, effective January 18, 2001
Donna Lemoine, Teacher, MHS, effective January 3, 2001
Aaron McKeel, Custodian, FLES, effective December 15, 2000
Rosie Wootin, FLES, Teacher Assistant, effective December 15, 2000
Transfer
Ferman Washington, Jr., Janitor, FJHS, to Maintenance Crew, CPSB, effective January 3, 2001.
It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Joseph and carried to adjourn at 6:50 p.m.
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Lester L. Peterman, Superintendent Mike Grantham, President