PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 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, March 16, 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.

Superintendent Bachus introducted and explained access to #cpsbfamily.  She noted that this is a number of new things happening in the district.

She then recognized Adajia Harris, the Middle School Student of the Year who was absent last month when the other students were recognized.

Superintendent Bachus then recognized the following students receiving the Sidney A. Murray Citizenship Awards in Grades Pre-K - 2:

                                          Pre-K Grade               K Grade                   1^st Grade               2^nd Grade

CPA                                   Rhyan White               Marlee Edwards       Olivia Green           Crystal Comas

Ferriday Lower Elem.           Karlie Wells                Marie King               Dyson Brown         Ta’Shyree Scott

Monterey High                    Asher Woodruff            Lainey Lipsey          Brooklyn Ford        Jaxen Chaudoin

Vidalia Lower Elem.            Walter Mackel, Jr.        Eli Garcia                Shanley King         Aubrey Ernest

Mr. Butcher asked if there were any additions or deletions to the agenda.  Mr. Carson asked that Item VI. E be deleted.  It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Taunton, and unanimously carried to make the following additions to Section IV Items for Discussion and Appropriate Action:

·         to Move the ESSER Committee Report to Item B. 1. for Consideration of Renovation Recommendations.

·         to Add Item I. 1.  Update on Monterey High School Drainage,

·         to Add Item I. 2.  Request that JCP Management or the Town of Ferriday Repair the Sidewalks and Parking Lot at Ferriday High School, and

·         to Add Item I. 3.  Approval of Engineering and Fee Contract with Bryant Hammett & Associates to Provide Engineering Services for Ferriday High School and Vidalia High School Football Fields.

It was then moved by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mrs. Forman to Add Item I. 4.  Fred Marsalis, Jr., in Reference to Pay.  Mr. Butcher requested a roll call vote:

Mr. Wayne Wilson - Yea

Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea

Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr. - Abstain

Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea

Mr. Matt Taunton – Yea

Mrs. Angela Hayes – Yea

Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea

Mrs. Vanessa Houck – Yea

Mr. Fred Butcher – Yea.

Mr. Butcher asked that the minutes reflect that he is voting Yea because he had asked the school board attorney, Mr. Bob Hammonds, to be in attendance at this meeting to advise on one or two other issues to come before the board tonight.

The motion failed due to the abstention of Fred Marsalis, Sr.  The vote must be unanimous by all those present and voting to add an item to the agenda.  Mr. Marsalis left the meeting room.  It was then moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Hayes, and the vote was taken again by roll call.

Roll call vote to add Item I. 4. to the agenda:

Mr. Wayne Wilson - Yea

Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea

Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea

Mr. Matt Taunton – Yea

Mrs. Angela Hayes – Yea

Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea

Mrs. Vanessa Houck – Yea

Mr. Fred Butcher – Yea.

The motion passed unanimously with 8 yeas, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions.  Mr. Marsalis, Sr., returned to the meeting room.

The Committee Reports were presented.  (See attachment)

Mr. Butcher noted that there was a number of ladies in red jackets in attendance and asked if someone from that group would like to address the board and to please explain the significance of the red jackets.  One of the group stated that they are the Vidalia alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and they do community service and social action. Mr. Butcher welcomed them and invited them back to future meetings.

Ms. Shandra Collins was present at the request of her attorney to ask that the minutes be changed from the version that is posted on the school board website regarding moving Ms. Collins’ presentation to executive session and then declining to meet with her and her attorney.  It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mr. Taunton to approve the minutes of the February 9, 2023, meeting as written.  Mr. Butcher asked for a roll call vote:

Mr. Wayne Wilson - Yea

Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea

Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr. - Yea

Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea

Mr. Matt Taunton – Yea

Mrs. Angela Hayes – Yea

Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea

Mrs. Vanessa Houck – Yea

Mr. Fred Butcher – Yea.

The motion passed unanimously with 9 yeas, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions.  Mr. Butcher asked that the records reflect that the board has asked Superintendent Bachus to write a letter to Ms. Collins with our attorneys address and contact information so that the responsibility of making that contact would rest with the parent/guardian. 

It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mrs. Parker, and unanimously carried to approve the invoices in the amount of $4,997,383 for the month of March 2023.

In Mr. Gonzalez’s absence, Mr. Carson gave an update on the ESSER Committee meeting  He indicated that the committee had met with the architect and engineer relative to the HVAC sysems for the Vidalia  and Monterey schools.  He indicated that the committee was in agreement of the HVAC systems and indicated that they wanted to adopt a similar program to the one previously approved for the Ferriday schools. Under such program a concentrated effort would be made to two schools with the intent of reviewing the remaining schools at a later date.

That program included a particular type of windows that were included and we did send a request that if possible for the Ferriday schools, the Monterey schools, and the Vidalia schools have a uniformity in the type of windows used.  So we had that plan and a report of the expenditures presented to us at that time.  It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mr. Marsalis and unanimously carried to accept the recommendations of the ESSER committee and put out the recommendations for bid.

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.

Concordia Parish School Board

Committee Meeting

Personnel Announcements

March 13, 2023

Leaves:

Kenyatha Robinson, Paraprofessional, Ferriday Lower Elementary School, return from maternity leave, effective February 15, 2023.

Tamantha Miller, Assistant Principal, CPAMST, return from maternity leave, effective February 14, 2023.

Laurel Crouch, Teacher, Monterey High School, return from maternity leave, effective February 6, 2023.

Katelynn Boone, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High School, return from maternity leave, effective February 15, 2023.

Tracy Fleming, Teacher, Vidalia High School, Family Medical Leave, effective February 6, 2023 through April 3, 2023.

Appointments:

Kaderrius Minor, 12 month Janitor, Vidalia Upper Elementary School, effective February 27, 2023.

Darlena Wilson, Paraprofessional, Vidalia Junior High School, effective February 20, 2023.

Jessica Bradley, Paraprofessional, Vidalia Upper Elementary School, effective February 15, 2023.

Resignations:

Roshonda Brown, Print Shop Manager, Media Center, effective February 24, 2023.

Deloris Gipson, SFS Technician, Ferriday High School, effective February 27, 2023.

Brandi Stewart, Teacher, Media Center, effective February 28, 2023.

Constance Geoghegan, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective March 3, 2023.

Emma Skipper, Janitor, FHS Freshman Academy, effective February 23, 2023.

Retirements:

Michael Brown, 12 Month Janitor, Ferriday Junior High School, effective January 29, 2023.

Mr. Tom O’Neal gave an update on the central office building.  The matter of replacing all or part of the carpet could make a sizable difference in the cost.  If the carpet down the hall and perhaps in Superintendent Bachus’ office has no signs of mold, there is no reason to replace it. It can be deep-cleaned and left in place.  The offices across the front of the building and several others on the east side of the building will need to be replaced.  O’Neal estimated that we will be back in the building by the end of July.

Mr. O’Neal opened the RFPs received for bus transportation and read them to the board.  Some representatives of the transportation companies were present and they were allowed to speak. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Houck and unanimously carried to accept the RFPs from the three companies who responded:  Durham School Services, Ecco Ride of Louisiana, and Jones Student Transportation.  Mr. Butcher appointed a bus committee of Mr. Carson, Mrs. Forman, and others as appointed by Superintendent Bachus to review proposals and bring back a  recommendation in April.  The bids were as follows:

Mr. O’Neal presented the Plaisance Farm agricultural lease and recommended assigning the lease to another party, David Kaiser Huff who will be assuming Mr. Plaisance’s farming operation, as Mr. Plaisance, will not be farming after this season.  It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mrs. Forman and unanimously carried to amend the lease assignment of the agricultural lease to David Huff.

Mr. Carson asked that Item E, which he had asked to be added, be deleted from the agenda.

It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Marsalis, and subsequently amended by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mr. Marsalis then unanimously carried to approve Bryant Hammett & Associates to be the civil engineer at Ferriday High School and Vidalia High School to resurface the football fields and to address the issue of drainage at Monterey High School.

Superintendent Bachus gave an update on the roofing projects at Ferriday Lower Elementary and Monterey High School.

The issue of the drainage problem at Monterey High School was handled in the earlier motion.

It was moved by Mr. Marsalis, seconded by Mrs. Houck, and unanimously carried to request that JCP Management or the City of Ferriday repair the sidewalks as needed at Ferriday High School.

Fred Marsalis, Jr., the school board’s business manager, addressed the board concerning additional duties added by the creation of the semi-monthly payroll change. He also noted that he had a concern that his salary scale did not provide for additional compensation for advanced degrees.  He requested additional pay for the previous year’s extra workload and also additional pay to reflect a higher degree designation.  Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr., left the table and did not participate in the discussion that followed.  During the discussion the board attorney, Bob Hammonds, stated that retroactive pay is illegal in Louisiana.  He also noted that salary schedules were normally approved by the board, and therefore could be changed as necessary.  It was agreed that this matter should come before the finance committee or should be a part of the budget process.  It was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mr. Carson and unanimously carried to refer this matter to the finance committee before the next meeting.   Mr. Butcher asked for a roll call vote:

Mr. Wayne Wilson - Yea

Mrs. Dorothy Parker – Yea

Mr. Derrick Carson – Yea

Mr. Matt Taunton – Yea

Mrs. Angela Hayes – Yea

Mrs. Lisette Forman – Yea

Mrs. Vanessa Houck – Yea

Mr. Fred Butcher – No.

The motion passed with 7 yeas, 1 nay, and 0 abstentions.  Mr. Marsalis, Sr., returned to the table.

Superintendent Bachus announced that the superintendent/board members retreat would be held on April 15, 2023.  She will be sharing more details with them before the 15^th.

Superintendent Bachus gave an update on the security system for all the schools, explaining that this project would be a part of next year’s budget, which begins July 1, 2023.  Superintendent Bachus said she and Mrs. Jessica Carter, the Director of Secondary Education, will be writing a grant to cover the cost of the security system.  She noted that they would be asking for the entire $1.5 million and was confident in the grant-writing team that we will get that amount.

It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mrs. Forman, and unanimously carried to approve the policies GBRID – Military Leave, and LEH – Patriotic Organizations on the second reading of these policies.

Announcements by Superintendent Bachus:

·         The “Dream Team” has had an opportunity to pitch to Syrah for their support in enhancing our core, or real life skills, for our students.  One of the things we requested from them is facility help because we have grant funds that can pay for everything inside of it, but it cannot pay for infrastructure. If this expansion goes through, and we hope it does, we hope to hear something by the end of next week.  It would be epic for our district to have a Syrah technology training center on each campus, which is what we requested.  The Dream Team consisted of Mrs. Jessica Carter, Mr. Vidrine at VHS, and Mrs. Doughty at FHS.  

·         You have a newsletter and draft of a calendar.  The calendar was not on the agenda to be approved because you have not had a chance to look at it.  This calendar had 54% approval from 100% of our staff.

There being no further business, it was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mrs. Parker and unanimously carried to adjourn at 7:40 PM.