PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023
The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in Regular Session at the Vidalia City Hall Meeting Room in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Fred Butcher. Mr. Butcher, after prayer and the Pledge, declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.
Board members present were Mr. Wayne Wilson, Mrs. Dorothy Parker, Mr. Fred Marsalis, Mr. Derrick Carson, Ms. Angela Hayes, Mrs. Lisette Forman, Mrs. Vanessa Houck, Mr. Matt Taunton, and Mr. Fred Butcher.
The Oaths of Office were administered to all board members by Concordia Parish Clerk of Court Andy Anders.
President Butcher opened the floor for nomination of Officers for calendar year 2023. It was moved by Mr. Carson that the Officers remain the same as the previous year with Mr. Butcher as President and Mrs. Lisette Forman as Vice-President. Mrs. Houck nominated Matt Taunton as President and Fred Marsalis, Sr., as Vice President.
Roll call vote for Matt Taunton, president, and Fred Marsalis, Sr., vice-president.
Mr. Wayne Wilson – yea
Mrs. Dorothy Parker – nay
Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr. – yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – nay
Mr. Matt Taunton – yea
Ms. Angela Hayes – nay
Mrs. Lisette Forman – nay
Mrs. Vanessa Houck – yes
Mr. Fred Butcher – nay
The nomination failed by 4 yeas and 5 nays.
Roll call vote for Fred Butcher, president, and Lisette Forman, vice-president.
Mr. Wayne Wilson – nay
Mrs. Dorothy Parker – yea
Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr. – yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – yea
Mr. Matt Taunton – nay
Ms. Angela Hayes – yea
Mrs. Lisette Forman – yea
Mrs. Vanessa Houck – nay
Mr. Fred Butcher – yea
The nomination passed by 6 yeas and 3 nays. Mr. Fred Butcher and Mrs. Lisette Forman were selected to remain as President and Vice-President respectively for Calendar Year 2023.
Superintendent Bachus and board president Fred Butcher presented awards to the following:
Principal of the Year:
Elementary School Principal of the Year – Sandra Burton
Middle School Principal of the Year – Whest Shirley
High School Principal of the Year – Bernie Cooley
Teacher of the Year:
Elementary School Teacher of the Year – Caissidy Riley
Middle School Teacher of the Year – Sharon Henderson
High School Teacher of the Year – Bobbie M. Woods
Student of the Year:
Elementary School Student of the Year – Lyrehc To’My Lyfe Cage
Middle School Student of the Year – Adaija Harris
High School Student of the Year – Lillie Brazile
Committee Reports were presented. (See attached.) Superintendent Bachus reiterated the recommendations of the Special Finance Committee given at the December meeting because the recommendations were not voted on in December:
1) Job descriptions need to be examined and updated.
2) Pay tables need to be examined and simplified when necessary. The committee decided to table non-instructional directors and supervisors’ scales to be done when all scales are examined.
3) When an employee takes on the responsibilities of a vacant position, meaning a salaried position, they are to be compensated for 20% of the base starting salary for the vacant position. Of course, we put in some other procedures related to this recommendation: That a person be evaluated informally monthly and evaluated formally yearly, and the employee shall not work the vacated position for more than a year. This will be a year-to-year agreement.
4) When an hourly employee takes on a vacant position, they are to be compensated for time and a half for the additional hours worked. When a paraprofessional fills in as a long-term substitute not to exceed a school year, they are to be compensated at the substitute rate of pay for that period. A long-term substitute is defined as an employee working more than 10 consecutive days in that position.
5) The final recommendation is that the instructional supervisors and directors, which are the 12-month employees, are paid for 260 days. This makes their daily rate off because they work 240 days. This error will be corrected by adding the money lost as a supplement.
It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mrs. Forman and carried to accept the recommendations of the special finance committee with Mr. Carson and Mr. Marsalis abstaining.
It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mrs. Houck, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the December 8, 2022, meeting.
It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mrs. Forman, and unanimously carried to approve the invoices in the amount of $5,390,409 for the month of December 2022.
Mrs. Rhonda Moore, Director of Human Resources, presented the personnel report. The report was available in the board members’ binders. There were no questions concerning the report. It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mr. Taunton, and unanimously carried to accept the report as presented.
Concordia Parish School Board
Regular Meeting
Personnel Announcements
January 12, 2023
Leaves:
Alisha Parker, Paraprofessional, Ferriday Lower Elementary School, return from maternity leave, effective December 15, 2022.
Crystal Cage, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, return from maternity leave, effective January 3, 2023.
Tracy Fleming, Teacher, Vidalia High School, Family Medical Leave, effective January 3, 2023 through February 3, 2023.
Karen Linton, Teacher, Vidalia High School, Family Medical Leave/extended medical leave upon exhaustion of accumulated sick leave, effective December 5, 2022 through March 2, 2023.
Appointments:
Joann Gardner (R_RTW), Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective January 3, 2023.
Resignations:
LaTeedra Jones, SFS Technician, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, effective January 9, 2023.
William Clifton, Teacher, CPAMST, effective December 16, 2023.
Joann Gardner (R_RTW), Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective January 11, 2023.
Retirements:
Ashley Avery, Teacher, Monterey High School, effective February 1, 2023.
Marilyn Birdon, Paraprofessional, Ferriday Junior High School, effective February 1, 2023.
Curtis Barber, Central Office Maintenance, Central Administration, effective February 16, 2023.
Mr. Tom O’Neal gave an update on the central office building. He noted that the situation has not changed since the two bids on remediation were presented in October, so hopefully they are still valid since so much time has passed. The bids range from approximately $80,000 - $234,000. Also, at the request of the board, we went back and got bids on the source of the problem. He said once we get direction from the board how to proceed, we’ll go back to the consulting engineer and contractors who bid on the project and see if their bids remain valid. If they are, we can get started on the work.
Superintendent Bachus’s recommendation was to accept not only the remediation quote from the company in south Louisiana., for $85,852, but to also to receive quotes dealing with the source of the problem. It was moved by Mrs. Forman and seconded by Mr. Carson to accept the remediation bid for the central office. A roll call vote was requested.
Mr. Wayne Wilson – Yea
Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea
Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr. – Yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea
Mr. Matt Taunton – Yea
Ms. Angela Hayes – Yea
Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea
Mrs. Vanessa Houck – Yea
Mr. Fred Butcher – Yea
Motion passed with 9 Yeas and 0 Nays.
It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mrs. Forman and carried to request that the architect draw up bid specifications that can be published for the exterior repair so when the remediation is done we can move forward. Mr. O’Neal noted that flooring is not included in the remediation bid. Superintendent Bachus said she doesn’t feel comfortable having the staff move back in without fixing the problem. Mr. Carson voted nay because he has questions concerning the use of public funds to enhance the value of a building owned by someone else. John Blanchard with Hammonds & Sills, our attorneys, said he would get an answer for Mr. Carson’s question about the use of public funds.
Marco Gonzalez with Volkert, Inc., noted that the Monterey High School gymnasium project is complete and was 107 days behind schedule as of December 19, 2022, the date of substantial completion. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for January 17, 2023.
Gonzalez then addressed the resurfacing of the football fields in Ferriday and Vidalia. Turf was first considered with the expense of upkeep being considered. Gonzalez gave examples of similar projects and their costs. After some discussion debating turf and grass and including a track, Mr. Carson asked to table this item until next month.
Gonzalez then updated the board on the ESSER projects. He said the windows in the Ferriday schools are not the standard size. They will have to look at how to spread the money out among the schools. Board members were given handouts and spreadsheets showing the budgeted items. He stated if the board members were comfortable with these figures, we’ll let the architects finish and go out for bids. There was a question on spending the ESSER funds, and Gonzalez explained that the ESSER funds are to help prevent COVID and so projects to be considered are in the area of windows, air conditioning and better ventilation. It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mr. Marsalis, and unanimously carried to accept Gonzalez’ recommendation and authorize the architect to proceed with the plans and specifications necessary to complete a bid package for publication.
Superintendent Bachus asked for volunteers serve on the special committee for the feasibility study of building a new central office complex. Mr. Wilson, Mr. Marsalis, Mr. Taunton and Mrs. Parker volunteered. Mr. Butcher named Mrs. Parker to be chair of the committee.
Mr. Carson opened discussion on the Superintendent’s and Board Members’ retreat. After discussion, the date was tentatively set for Saturday, February 11. Superintendent Bachus will invite Dr. Patrice Pujol, who is the senior executive-in-residence at the National Institute for Execllence in Teaching (NEIT), to speak at the retreat. She will confirm that February 11 works for Dr. Pujol. Our attorneys will be present as well. It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mrs. Parker and unanimously carried to move forward with holding the retreat.
It was moved by Mr. Marsalis, seconded by Mrs. Parker, and unanimously carried to request proposals for bus services under a new contract and not to continue under the provisions as the current one is written.
and do not continue this contract as it is written. The board requested Mr. O’Neal to get RFPs for the February meeting. Mrs. Bachus reminded board members that they had been given copies of the bus contract and a recommendation sheet to note anything they would like changed for a new contract. She will send that information to the new board members so they can turn in their recommendations.
It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mr. Marsalis, and unanimously carried to accept Superintendent Bachus’ recommendation for the basic security system from Homeland Safety, for $786,409, which can be added to as we are able. This will replace the security system that is in place now.
After some discussion on replacing the roof at Ferriday Lower Elementary and the Monterey schools or patching the areas that are leaking, Mr. Carson asked that the roof projects for Ferriday Lower Elementary and the Monterey schools be tabled until the February meeting.
Superintendent Bachus made the following announcements:
· Ferriday High School is asking that everyone check out their new podcasts. The high school principals all went to a high school principals’ retreat and came back with some great ideas. Several of the high schools are doing podcasts now and they are being done by the students.
· You have several of the school calendars in your binders for upcoming events.
· Remember the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Monterey High School Gym on January 17th.
· Vidalia High School held a College and Career Expo on January 8th from 9:00 to 12:00.
· Ferriday High School held their College and Career Expo this prior fall.
· LSBA Annual Convention is March 7-9, 2023, in Lake Charles.
· The L.E.A.D.S. Luncheon will be February 9, in Baton Rouge.
· The NIET Conference in Indianapolis is coming up. We’ll have more information about that at the retreat. We want to give the board members the opportunity to travel to Indianapolis with us and learn about where we’re taking our district. There is already a waiting list to register so let us know as soon as possible if you’re interested and we’ll get you on the list.
It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mrs. Forman and unanimously carried to go into Executive Session at 8:15 PM.
It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mr. Marsalis and unanimously carried to come back into regular session at 9:20 PM. Mr. Butcher stated that they discussed the upcoming special meeting and the DOJ lawsuit.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Marsalis and unanimously carried to adjourn at 9:21 PM.