PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022
The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in a Public Hearing Session at the Concordia Parish School Board office in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at 6:00 o’clock p.m. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Fred Butcher who, after prayer and the Pledge, declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.
Board members present were Mr. Warren Enterkin, Mrs. Dorothy Parker, Dr. Raymond Riley, Mr. Derrick Carson, Mr. Nicky Pere, Ms. Angela Hayes, Mrs. Lisette Forman, Mr. Ricky Raven, and Mr. Fred Butcher. There were no absences.
Marco Gonzalez with Volkert, Inc., gave an update on the Monterey High School Gym. The completion date is estimated to be September 1st.
Committee reports were presented. (see attached)
Mr. Raven gave the Educational/Personnel Policy Committee Report.
Mrs. Forman gave the Finance Committee Report. She noted that the bi-monthly payroll change was discussed, and the committee members agreed that it would be best to make the change in July 2023, not this year. Mr. Butcher asked Mr. Marsalis for a report on the payroll issue. Mr. Marsalis stated the results of a 15-person poll taken since the last meeting were that it didn’t matter to the employees in the poll if there was a change in the payroll schedule. After some discussion, Mrs. Forman asked if a vote could be taken to add this matter to the agenda to vote on whether the payroll schedule change begins July 1, 2022, or July 1, 2023. Mr. Butcher asked that this be added to the agenda saying the vote would be taken after the committee reports were given.
Dr. Riley gave the Buildings and Grounds Committee Report. During said Report, Mr. Butcher asked the board to direct the Superintendent and the maintenance person to go out and get two quotes for repairing the press boxes at Ferriday High School and Vidalia High School, using the same specs for both quotes; otherwise, this is not going to get done before football season. The quote should include the speakers, the press box, putting a new air conditioner in it, and the floor in the Ferriday press box is dangerous. It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mr. Raven and unanimously carried to give the Superintendent and her staff the authority to work with the business department and the maintenance department and get these quotes.
It was moved by Mr. Raven, seconded by Mrs. Parker, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on May 19, 2022.
Mr. Fred Marsalis gave the financial report. It was moved by Dr. Riley, seconded by Mr. Raven and unanimously carried to approve invoices in the amount of $5,589,802 for the month of May 2022.
After discussion, the following item was added to the agenda as Item # F, “Decide Whether Employees Will Be Paid on the 15th and Last Friday of the Month” Under Section VII. Items for Discussion and Appropriate Action.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Warren Enterkin - Yea
Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea
Dr. Raymond Riley – Yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea
Mr. Nicky Pere - Yea
Ms. Angela Hayes – Yea
Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea
Mr. Ricky Raven – Yea
Mr. Fred Butcher – Yea
Motion passed with 9 Yeas, 0 Nays, and no abstentions.
Mrs. Rhonda Moore presented the personnel report. The report was available in the board members’ binders.
Concordia Parish School Board
Personnel Announcements
Regular School Board Meeting
June 6, 2022
Leaves:
Kendall Philippe, Teacher, Monterey High School, maternity leave/extended medical leave upon exhaustion of accumulated sick leave, effective May 2, 2022 through May 20, 2022.
Resignations:
Janishia Butler, Teacher, Ferriday High School, effective May 2, 2022.
Glynda Green, Secretary/Bookkeeper, Sales Tax, effective May 23, 2022.
Appointments:
Casey Duck, Teacher, Monterey High School, effective August 1, 2022.
Parmer Brown, Paraprofessional, Freshman Academy/Ferriday High School effective August 3, 2022.
Caroline Golden, Paraprofessional, Vidalia High School, effective August 3, 2022.
Cynthia Anderson, Paraprofessional, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, effective August 3, 2022.
Amanda Wingfield, Teacher, Vidalia High School, effective August 1, 2022.
Markecia Lyons, Teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary, effective August 1, 2022.
Kristen Cole, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 1, 2022.
Laura Weatherly, Paraprofessional, CPAMST, effective August 3, 2022.
Kelly Sharp, School Psychologist, Special Populations, effective July 11, 2022.
Gerri Lipsey, Speech Pathologist, Special Populations, effective August 1, 2022.
Amanda Dill, Teacher, Vidalia Upper Elementary School, effective August 1, 2022.
Julia Forman, Teacher, Vidalia Upper Elementary School, effective August 1, 2022.
Flora McKnight, Teacher, Vidalia High School, effective August 1, 2022.
Ciera Ferguson, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High School, effective August 1, 2022.
Kirsten Thurman, Teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary, effective August 1, 2022.
Retirements:
Mary Beard, Secretary/Bookkeeper, Special Populations, effective June 30, 2022.
Mary Huhn, Director of Special Populations, effective August 1, 2022.
Penny Whittington, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High School, effective May 20, 2022.
Resignations:
Ryan Strong, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High School, effective May 20, 2022.
Mr. Tom O’Neal presented the 2021-22 amended budget. It was moved by Mr. Enterkin, seconded by Mr. Pere, and unanimously carried to approve the budget as amended. A roll call vote was taken.
Roll call vote:
Mr. Warren Enterkin - Yea
Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea
Dr. Raymond Riley – Yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea
Mr. Nicky Pere - Yea
Ms. Angela Hayes – Yea
Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea
Mr. Ricky Raven – Yea
Mr. Fred Butcher – Yea
Motion passed with 9 Yeas, 0 Nays, and no abstentions.
Supt. Watson presented the safety plan which is to be used at all schools by Mr. Henderson and others on the safety team as a guide to check different areas. They have also been looking at security cameras and have chosen one that the Sheriff’s Office can also monitor because they are using the same system. They will be able to tap into our system and see in real time what’s going on.
Supt. Watson said she has met with the Vidalia Chief of Police, Joey Merrill, and she will be meeting with the Ferriday chief of police next regarding the Memorandum of Understanding for the Resource Officer. Supt. Watson gave them specifications for the Resource Officer. It worked very well. Brandy Spears with the Sheriff’s Office has been very helpful with the MOU. They have one of the more detailed contracts. It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Ms. Hayes, and unanimously carried to approve the contract that is under consideration with Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office and have the same specs in the contracts with the Ferriday and Vidalia police departments for the upcoming school year.
Supt. Watson noted that the annual Juneteenth Celebration is coming up next weekend and the holiday will be June 20. She requested that the board allow the high school parking lots in Ferriday and Vidalia to be utilized by the parade committees as with other organizations. Supt. Watson will serve as the sponsor for the parade. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Forman and unanimously carried to approve the use of the high school parking lots for the Juneteenth parade line-ups.
After discussion, it was moved by Mrs. Forman and seconded by Mr. Pere that the semi-monthly payroll change begin July 1, 2023. Mrs. Forman then requested that she be allowed to amend her motion, and asked Mr. Pere to rescind his second. After the second had been rescinded, she then moved that the payroll change be postponed until January 2023, and before we go to a bi-monthly payroll, take a survey with a 75% participation of all employees before making a final change. Mr. Pere seconded and a roll call vote was taken.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Warren Enterkin - Yea
Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Nay
Dr. Raymond Riley – Nay
Mr. Derrick Carson – Nay
Mr. Nicky Pere - Yea
Ms. Angela Hayes – Nay
Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea
Mr. Ricky Raven – Yea
Mr. Fred Butcher – Nay
Motion failed with 4 Yeas, 5 Nays, and no abstentions.
It was moved by Dr. Riley that the semi-monthly payroll change begin July 1, 2022, with pay days being the 15th and 30th of the month. Mr. Fred Marsalis asked if the dates could be the 15th and the last working day of the month since there are four months where the turn-around time between payrolls would be nine days. Dr. Riley restated his motion to be that the pay days will be for the 15th of the month and the last working day of the month. Mr. Carson seconded and a roll call vote was taken.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Warren Enterkin – Nay
Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea
Dr. Raymond Riley – Yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea
Mr. Nicky Pere - Nay
Ms. Angela Hayes – Yea
Mrs. Lisette Forman – Nay
Mr. Ricky Raven – Nay
Mr. Fred Butcher – Yea
Motion passed with 5 Yeas, 4 Nays, and no abstentions.
Supt. Watson made the following announcements:
Supt. Watson noted that her end of year letter to the board had been included in the FYI packet mailed to the board, then she read it to them.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Raven and unanimously carried to adjourn at 7:50 PM.