February 10, 2004

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2004.

The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in a regular session at the Concordia Parish School Board office in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Tuesday, February 10, 2004, at five-thirty (5:30) o'clock p.m. The meeting was called to order by Ernest Lynn White, President, who after prayer and the Pledge, declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.

Members present were Mr. Ernest Lynn White, Rev. Johnnie Brown, Ms. Mary Campbell, Mr. Raymond Riley, Mr. Ricky Raven, Mr Darrell Crofford and Mr. Jimmy Wilkinson.

Members absent were Mr. Don Joseph and Ms. Martha Rabb

Superintendent Laster presented the School Attendance Awards as follows:

First Place Ridgecrest Elementary School

Second Place Vidalia Upper Elementary School

Third Place Ferriday Lower Elementary School

Superintendent Laster recognized Ms. Dorothy Ulmer, Teacher, Vidalia High School for having been recognized as Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators. Ms. Ulmer thanked the Board, America 2000 and the Rapides Foundation for making it possible for her to achieve this recognition.

It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to approve the minutes of January 13, 2004.

Mr. Tom O'Neal, Director of Business Affairs presented the financial report. It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to approve invoices in the amount of $2,833,499.

It was moved by Mr. Riley, seconded by Rev. Brown and carried unanimously to approve the opening of bids for the portable building. Bids were as follows:

Kathy Smith $301.00

Sue Gillespie $426.00

It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Wilkinson and carried unanimously to accept the highest bid.

Mr. Butcher, Director of Academic Affairs, presented the Helen Keller Child Sight Program to the Board. Mr. Butcher reviewed the requirements of the program and the responsibilities of the local system. The program must be renegotiated at the end of the first year and can be canceled with a thirty day written notice. This program will assist in providing vision services to underpriviledged children. It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mr. Wilkinson and carried to approve the program for the first year.

Ms. Margie Williams, Paraprofessional, Vidalia Lower Elementary, representing the paraprofessionals appeared before the Board and requested that the Board review the salary schedule for paraprofessionals. Mr. Williams stated that the schedules had not been revised in ten years. It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Riley and carried to take the matter under advisement.

Mr. James Cockerham, representing the school bus drivers association, appeared before the Board and read the following letter:

We, the undersigned school bus drivers of Concordia Pairsh, do hereby submit this letter to the Concordia Parish School Board regarding compensation for "out of town" trips taken in our school busses.

Much discussion has gone on concerning the rate of compensation paid for these trips that have been taken in the past. The current rate of $1.10 per mile has been contemplated for some time, but after an intensive and thorough search, no written documentation has been found concerning the current rate of compensation for "out of town" trips on our busses.

On Friday, January 23, 2004, a meeting was held by us, the contract school bus drivers. We, the undersigned, agreed to make "out of town" trips in our busses at the following rate of compensation: $1.50 per mile traveled plus $8.33 per hour from time of departure until time of return, plus 1 hour for fuel and to clean our busses.

Mr. Cockerham, requested that the letter be made part of the official minutes. It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to take the matter under advisement.

It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mr. Riley and carried unanimously to approve the Easter and Independence Day Holidays for twelve month personnel as follows:

Easter - Wednesday, April 7, through Friday, April 9, 2004

Independence Day - Friday, July 2, and Monday, July 5, 2004

Superintendent Laster informed the Board of the following matters:

Mr. Richard Alwood, Title I Supervisor, will be retiring and the duties will be absorbed for the time being.
A study is being done on placing students who are 16-17 years old and being retained at the Alternative Center. Both special and regular education students are being considered for alternative placement.
The results of a staff survey which Superintendent Laster conducted was presented by using a Power Point presentation.

It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to add the addendum item to the personnel section of the agenda.

It was moved by Ms. Campbell, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried to approve the following personnel items in global.

Resignations

Kristin Nunn, Teacher, Vidalia Upper, effective February 5, 2004

Roberta Spikes Cummings, JROTC, Ferriday High School, effective February 10, 2004

Retirement

Linda Netherland, School Bus Operator, effective May 28, 2003

Richard Alwood, Title I Supervisor, effective March 31, 2004

Sabbatical Leave

J.C. Myrick, Teacher, Vidalia High, effective January 13, 2004, second semester only

Janie Reyes, Teacher, Vidalia Lower, effective second semester 2003-04 school year

Appointments

Carol Ledford, Teacher Vidalia High, effective February 2, 2004, for the remainder of the 2003-04 school year only

Christie Berkley, Teacher, Vidalia Lower, effective February 2, 2004, for the remainder of the 2003-04 school year only

Cindy Etheridge, Teacher, Vidalia Upper, effective for the remainder of the 2003-04 school year only

Bruce Pickle, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High, effective for the remainder of the 2003-04 school year only

It was moved by Mr. Crofford, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to adjourn at 6:00 p.m.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005

The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in a Public Hearing at the Concordia Parish School Board office in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Tuesday, September 13, 2005, at five-thirty (5:30) o'clock p.m. The meeting was called to order by Raymond Riley, Sr., Vice- President, who after prayer and the Pledge, declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.

Members present were: Ms. Mary Campbell, Mr. Raymond Riley, Mr. Ricky Raven, Mr. Jerry Roberts, Mr. Gary Parnham, Ms. Martha Rabb, and Ms. Melanie Watson.

Members absent were: Mr. Jimmy Wilkinson and Mr. Ernest Lynn White.

Mr. Tom O'Neal, Director of Business Affairs, reviewed the resolution to adopt the adjusted millage rate(s) for the tax year 2005 with the millage to remain as is with no increase.

Mr. O'Neal also reviewed the budget process, congratulating the Board for a very successful year.

There was a call for questions or public comments.

It was moved by Mr. Parnham, seconded by Mr. Roberts and carried to adjourn at 5:40 p.m.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2005

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, September 13, 2005, at five-forty (5:40) o'clock p.m. The meeting was called to order by Raymond Riley, Sr., Vice- President, who after prayer and the Pledge, declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.

Members present were: Ms. Mary Campbell, Mr. Raymond Riley, Mr. Ricky Raven, Mr. Jerry Roberts, Mr. Gary Parnham, Ms. Martha Rabb, and Ms. Melanie Watson.

Members absent were: Mr. Jimmy Wilkinson and Mr. Ernest Lynn White.

The Board recognized Ms. Dorothy Ulmer and Ms. Jeannie Hall for having received a 2005 Bell South Mini Grant.

The Board recognized Ms. Derinda Smith for having been selected as Middle School Teacher of the Year for Concordia Parish.

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to approve the minutes of Tuesday, August 9, 2005.

It was moved by Mr. Parnham, seconded by Mr. Roberts and carried unanimously to approve the invoices and financial report for the month of August.

It was moved by Mr. Riley, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried to approve the resolution to adopt the adjusted millage rate(s) for the tax year 2005 as follows:

RESOLUTION

BE IT RESOLVED, that the following millage is hereby levied on the 2005 tax roll, on all property subject to taxation by the Concordia Parish School Board.

1) Constitutional 02.97 Mills

2) Additional support for maintaining

and operating of parish schools 24.14 Mills

On roll call vote the following resolution was adopted as follows:

YEAS: Mary H. Campbell

Gary Parham, Sr.

Martha J. Rabb

Ricky L. Raven

Raymond T. Riley, Sr.

Jerry Roberts

Melanie Watson

NAYS None

ABSENT: Ernest L. White

Jimmy Wilkinson

I hereby certify that the above resolution levying the property tax millage for 2005 was adopted at a regular scheduled board meeting of the Concordia Parish School Board on September 13, 2005, by a vote of seven (7) yeas, no nays and two (2) absent, being at least a two-thirds majority of the full membership of the Board as required by Act 433 of 1981.

RESOLUTION

BE IT RESOLVED, that the following millage is hereby levied on the 2005 tax roll, on all property subject to taxation by the Concordia Parish School Board.

1) Acquiring and construction of additional classrooms and

for the providing of additional support for public education 12.55 Mills

On roll call vote the following resolution was adopted as follows:

YEAS: Mary H. Campbell

Gary Parham, Sr.

Martha J. Rabb

Ricky L. Raven

Raymond T. Riley, Sr.

Jerry Roberts

Melanie Watson

NAYS None

ABSENT: Ernest L. White

Jimmy Wilkinson

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to adopt the 2005-06 Consolidated Budget as proposed by Mr. O'Neal.

The bids for Fiscal Agents for 2005-06 and 2006-07 were opened. It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Parnham, and carried unanimously to take the bids under advisement for further study and grant Mr. O'Neal the authority to award.

Ms. Rabb requested that the award be made only after review of the finance committee.

The bids for Vidalia High School Library/Science Facility were as follows:

Company Base Bid Alternate 1 Alternate 2

Skip Converse $1,562,000 $69,000 $68,000

Traxler Construction Co. 1,568,000 62,000 55,000

Wilmar Construction 1,473,620 76,077 64,468

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Parnham and carried unanimously to take the bids under advisement and grant Mr. O'Neal the authority to award the bid to the lowest bidder.

Ms. Rabb requested that the award be made only after review and recommendation of the finance committee.

Mr. O'Neal, Director of Business Affairs, provided the Board an update on the Delivery on Loan Proceeds. He advised that the money was in the bank ready to go to work.

It was moved by Mr. Parnham, seconded by Ms. Rabb and carried unanimously to adopt the current and future state travel policy.

It was moved by Mr. Raven, seconded by Mr. Roberts and carried unanimously to adopt the Louisiana Compliance Statement for Audit Engagements.

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Ms. Rabb and Mr. Parnham, and carried unanimously to approve the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement Resolution.

The Board discussed the possibility of calculating the operational changes for school bus operators every three months. It was moved by Mr. Parnham, seconded by Mr. Roberts and carried unanimously to table the issue until the business department and software personnel met to see if payment could be made every month or every three months. Mr. Cockerham and Superintendent would then reach an agreement on the payment method and bring this back to the Board for approval.

It was moved by Mr. Raven, seconded by Mr. Roberts, and carried unanimously to break the lease with the Town of Ferriday for the old Ferriday Seventh Grade School.

The Board discussed hiring a School Resource Officer. Superintendent Kerry Laster presented the Board with a report from the Ferriday Police Department on the number of calls that Ferriday Police responded to last year. This report indicated that the Ferriday Police Department responded to a total of ten (10) calls for the Ferriday Schools last year.

Mr. Howard Jackson, Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance, addressed the Board stating that he had requested the School Resource Officer. Mr. Jackson indicated that the Concordia Alternative Center was not dealing with the better students. He indicated that the center housed students with drug convictions as well as attempted murder. Mr. Jackson informed the Board that the numbers presented were not even close to the number of calls made to the schools and he did not want the Board deceived.

Mr. Jackson stated that every child at the Alternative Center was a troubled child. He also stated that the Resource Officer would be on call for all the Ferriday Schools.

Superintendent Laster stated that she had some concerns that Mr. Davis was a bus driver and would not be available during the most needed hours when busses were being unloaded and loaded. Mr. Jackson stated that the police department could still be contacted. Mr. Jackson restated his request that a School Resource Officer be hired to serve the Ferriday Schools and be home based at the Concordia Alternative Center.

Mr. Parnham informed Mr. Jackson that he did not want anything to happen and wanted safer schools, but did not want to make a hasty decision on the matter.

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Parnham and carried unanimously to table the issue until the next regular meeting.

Mr. Joshua Scott addressed the Board concerning the disposition of Section 16, T1N, R8E. Mr. Scott was unaware that he did not have a contract on the land. Mr. Scott informed the Board that he was notified by the land office that the Board was putting this section into trees. Mr. Scott also informed the Board that he currently has a crop on the land, he built a base on the land and the only way to get to the property was through his grandfather's land.

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Ms. Rabb and carried unanimously to enter into a contract with Mr. Scott after a meeting with Mr. Lynn White, Mr. Tom O'Neal and Mr. Jon Guice.

Superintendent Laster gave an update on hurricane related topics. The Board was informed of the need for additional bus routes as well as the need for additional teachers.

Mr. Howard Jackson provided and update on out-of-zone students.

It was moved by Mr. Parnham, seconded by Ms. Rabb and carried unanimously to allow Mr. Roberts to add an item to the agenda concerning the renaming of Viking Stadium.

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Parnham and carried unanimously to allow the superintendent to create a committee to rename Viking Stadium. The superintendent would be granted the authority to rename the stadium upon recommendation by the committee.

It was moved by Ms. Campbell, seconded by Ms. Rabb and carried to approve the following personnel items in global.

Resignations

Vernita McKeel, teacher, Ferriday Lower Elementary, effective August 25, 2005

Sabrina Johnson, 3^rd grade teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary, effective August 22, 2005

Amelia Danyale Bolin, paraprofessional, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 19, 2005

Irene McGraw, bus driver, effective September 7, 2005

Robert Calhoun, custodian, Ferriday High School, effective August 23, 2005

Retirement

James L. Freeman, teacher, Ferriday High School, effective June 30, 2005

LaVerle McEntyre, teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective September 19, 2005

Appointments

James Sturgeon, 6^th grade math teacher, Ferriday Jr. High, effective September 1, 2005

Rachael Sutherland, 2^nd grade teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 8, 2005

George Barnes, physical education teacher 2/7 of the day Ferriday Education Center, physical science and physical education teacher/coach 5/7 of the day Ferriday High School, effective August 15, 2005 for the 2005-06 school year

Gail Vess, physical science teacher, Ferriday High School, effective August 24, 2005 for the 2005-06 school year

Sharlene Campbell, 3^rd grade teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary, effective August 22, 2005 for the 2005-2006 school year only

Jennie Perkins, cafeteria manager, Vidalia High School, effective September 6, 2005

Easter Cain, Pre-K paraprofessional, Ferriday Lower Elementary, effective August 11, 2005

Carrie Yearby, Pre-K paraprofessional, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 23, 2005

Monica Martin, technician, Ferriday Lower Elementary, 5 hour to 7 hour technician

Transfers

Linda Alexander, teacher, Ferriday Jr. High, to Ferriday Education Center, math teacher, administrative trainee, effective August 28, 2005

Michael Richey, adult education teacher Concordia Correctional Facility to Ferriday Education Center, effective September 7, 2005

Renee West, Jobs for America's Graduates Coordinator, effective pending State Department approval

It was moved by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Parnham, and carried unanimously to enter into Executive Session at 7:25 p.m.

It was moved by Mr. Parnham, seconded by Mr. Roberts and carried unanimously to return to regular session at 8:20 p.m.

Mr. Riley announced that the matter discussed in Executive Session had been turned over to the Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance.

It was moved by Mr. Parnham, seconded by Mr. Roberts and carried to adjourn at 8:22 P.M.

_________________________ ________________________

Kerry Laster, Ph.D., Superintendent Ernest Lynn White, Board President