PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2018

 

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 Thursday, March 15, 2018, at 6:00 o’clock p.m.  The meeting was called to order by Mr. Raymond Riley who after prayer and the Pledge, declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.

 

Members present were Mr. Warren Enterkin, Ms. Mary Campbell, Mr. Fred Butcher, Mr. Raymond Riley, Ms. Cheryl Probst, Mr. Jeffery Goodman, and Mr. Ricky Raven.

     

Board Members Mr. Ronnie Bradford and Mr. John Bostic were absent.

 

The Board recognized Jacob Moreland of Monterey High School as the 12th grade 2018 District Student of the Year.

 

The Board recognized the following students receiving the Sidney A. Murray, Jr., Citizenship Awards in Grades Pre-K – 2:

 

                               Pre-Kindergarten       Kindergarten            Grade 1                     Grade 2

CPA                         Sophie Cupit              Ellis Malone             William Sandy            Sophia Clem

Ferriday Lower         Casey Miller              Meah Duncan           Bryceson Daniels       Kendrall Wright 

Monterey High          Preslie Tisdale           Sadie Smith             Ella Grace Nelson      Kaiya LaCaze

Vidalia Lower            Jade Williams            Jamyla Riley            Allie Lipscomb           Logan Bruce

 

 

The Board recognized the Monterey High School Cheerleaders who competed in the NCA National Cheerleading Championships on January 27, 2018, in Dallas, Texas.  The team, coached by Cecilia Stevens and Mandy Duncan, competed in the medium varsity game time performance division.  The team placed in the top ten in the nation in the intermediate level.

 

Students                                   Students                                   Students

Shealyn Cupit                           Leslie Duncan                           Delaney Jones

Rhonda Cross                           Ariana Smith                             Meah Peoples

Caroline Stevens                      Kimberly McHale                      Julia Beard

Brianna Tarver                          Emilee Estis                             Darah Morrisette

Jewel Drummer                        Graycie Wiley                           Shelby Nugent

Rylee Sproles

 

Mr. Riley thanked Sheriff Hedrick and David Hedrick for making sure that the children at Ferriday Elementary had a D.A.R.E. graduation as the other schools in the parish.

 

Committee Reports were presented.  Mr. Butcher of the Finance Committee stated that invoices, sales tax collections, Annual Leave Policy, and the procurement software were discussed.  Ordering cleaning supplies for next year in March or April was also discussed.  Ms. Campbell of the Educational/Personnel Policy Committee stated that leaves, retirement, appointments, resignations, annual leave, protecting our schools, and bullying were discussed.  Mr. Riley of the Buildings and Grounds Committee stated that they discussed annual leave policy and school calendars.

 

It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Ms. Campbell and carried to approve the minutes of February 8, 2018.

 

It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Enterkin and carried to approve invoices in the amount of $3,401,507 for the month of February.

 

It was moved by Ms. Probst, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried to approve the first reading of the following policy:

 

                     DFAA   Industrial Tax Exemptions

 

It was moved by Mr. Raven, seconded by Mr. Goodman and carried to approve awarding the Wiring Project bid to Howard Technologies, who was the lowest bidder. 

 

It was moved by Mr. Raven, seconded by Ms. Probst and carried to approve the following Resolution as requested by the Louisiana Association of School Personnel Administrators to develop a task force to help overcome teacher shortages in Louisiana:

 

 

CONCORDIA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

P.O. Box 950

Vidalia, Louisiana 71373-0950

Whest Shirley                                                                                                   Phone (318) 336-4226

Superintendent                                                                                                  Fax     (318) 336-5875

 

RESOLUTION

 

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board recognizes and appreciates the value of a qualified and highly skilled classroom teacher for every student in our school system; and,

 

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board believes the State of Louisiana, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Local Educational Agencies, Post-Secondary Institutions, and all affiliated groups and organizations should increasingly collaborate to ensure a quality teacher workforce for all children; and,

 

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board, despite ambitious recruiting, has experienced a decline in teacher applicants in areas including mathematics, science, and special education; and,

 

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board will benefit from the employment of a more diverse workforce, including African American, American Indian, Asian, Hispanic, and Latino teachers; and,

 

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board has proactively sought to overcome employment challenges by maintaining strong school leaders, positive work environments, and competitive compensation packages; and,

 

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board recognizes this as a statewide concern among districts; and,

 

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board believes that further illuminating this concern, through structured dialogue and engagement, provides hope for improving the dilemma.

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, The Concordia Parish School Board supports the thoughtful resolution provided by Louisiana Association of School Personnel Administrators (LSASPA). Further, it requests all parties concerned with public education unite behind the development of a Louisiana Task Force on Teacher Shortage to research strategies to overcome the challenge and secure a stronger educator workforce.

 

EXECUTED on this 15th day of March, 2018, by:

 

_______________________________                                                      ___________________________

Raymond Riley, President                                                                   Whest Shirley, Superintendent

Concordia Parish School Board                                                             Concordia Parish School Board

 

 

The Concordia Parish School Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities.

 

It was moved by Mr. Raven, seconded by Mr. Butcher and carried to approve the FY 2018-2019 School Calendar.

 

It was moved by Mr. Raven, seconded by Mrs. Probst and carried to approve the FY 2018-2019 12-Month Employee Calendar.  After a brief discussion, it was decided to rescind the motion to approve the 12-Month Employee Calendar.  This is to allow 12-month employees to have some input on the calendar.

 

After a brief discussion, Mr. Shirley read the proposed procedure to the Annual Leave Policy as follows:

 

That we adopt this clarifying procedure relative to the compensation of annual leave days due to an employee departing employment of the school board.

 

And that we instruct the Accounting Department to review all such payments made, since July 1, 2009, relative to vacation days earned and granted during the last fiscal period of an employee’s employment, and to make any adjustments necessary to coincide with such adopted procedure.

 

It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Ms. Campbell to approve the procedure added to the existing Annual Leave Policy. 

 

Roll Call Vote:               Mr. Warren Enterkin – Yes

                                    Ms. Mary Campbell – Yes

                                    Mr. Fred Butcher – Yes

                                    Ms. Cheryl Probst – Yes

                                    Mr. Jeffery Goodman – Yes

                                    Mr. Ricky Raven – Yes

                                    Mr. Raymond Riley – Yes

 

There was a brief discussion concerning student discipline on school buses.  Mr. Riley would like to meet with Angel Hawkins, Jeremy Southerland, Mr. Shirley, and our Transportation Supervisor about discipline on school buses.  No motion was made.    

 

Mr. Riley asked that those in charge of controlling bullying at the schools to take a serious look at doing some extra things and talking to kids.  No motion was made.

 

The following Personnel Announcements were made:

 

Concordia Parish School Board

Personnel Announcements

March 15, 2018

 

Appointments:

Emma Minor, SFS Technician, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective February 19, 2018.

 

Leaves:

Sarah Campbell, Teacher, Monterey High School, maternity leave upon exhaustion of accumulated sick leave, effective April 4, 2018 through May 17, 2018.

 

Betty Marsalis, Principal, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, maternity/extended medical leave upon exhaustion of accumulated sick leave, effective April 16, 2018 through June 8, 2018.

 

Gary Stewart, Sr., Central Office Maintenance, leave of absence without pay, effective February 16, 2018 through May 16, 2018.

 

David Turner, Family and Medical Leave (leave without pay) effective March 21, 2018 through April 18, 2018.

 

Mary Bell, School Nurse, return from extended medical leave, effective January 18, 2018.

 

Retirements:

GLynda Cain, SFS Technician, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective February 16, 2018.

 

Resignations:

Katrina Collins, Teacher, Ferriday Lower Elementary School, effective March 2, 2018.

 

The following Announcements were made by Mr. Shirley:

 

1.      DARE Graduations are going on this week; the last one will be tomorrow at VUE at 1:00.

2.      Meeting with all principals March 16th and 19th for staffing.

3.      ACT for juniors will be Tuesday, March 20th.

4.      Report card pickup is Friday, 23rd, 12:30 dismissal for students.

5.      VLE Famous Americans Program– 6:00 on March 27th.

6.      Parish Honors Banquet –Wednesday, March 28th at VCCC.

7.      March 30 – April 3 – Easter Holiday

 

It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried to adjourn at 6:52 p.m.