PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 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, April 13, 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 presented the Support Staff of the Year awards:

CEC – Brenda Minor                             VLE – Kristle Messer

CPA – Jessica Tyler                               VUE – Leonard Turner

FLE – Trina Green                                 VJH – Gerri Ellis

FUE – Jasmine Fells                             VHS – Jennie Maples

FJH – Irma Pryor                                   Bus Driver – Calvin Bethley

FFA – Parmer Brown                             Special Populations – Sheila Lewis

FHS – Rosa Demby                              Media Center – Trui Vaughn

MHS – Stacie Cooper                            Maintenance – Dennis Whittington

Marco Gonzalez was unable to attend the meeting so Superintendent Bachus gave an update on the ESSER renovations for the schools.  She stated that one thing that the board requested was that we have consistency with the window project within the district.  The board asked that we go with the style windows that Waycaster & Associates presented.

The board members then heard from Audrey Davis with Hope for Humanity Foundation, which houses young people who are broken or abandoned, abused or homeless.  Ms. Davis invited everyone to the Teen Summit coming up May 13, at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center.  School districts from all over Louisiana and Mississippi will be bringing their students to hear the speakers for the event.  Ms. Davis asked the board to support the event by allowing buses to bring their students, and she indicated that the board could also be a sponsor.  Lunch will be served.  The Summit will be honoring individuals and organizations which are making a positive difference in the lives of teens in Mississippi and Louisiana.  The event will begin at 10:00 AM and end at 3:00 PM.  There may be other events every six twelve months.

Kaye Andrews, R.N., the Senior School Nurse, gave a report and requested that if possible to keep the three additional nurses we hired with ESSER funds since those funds run out at the end of this school year.  She reported that Medicaid is billed for all the services that the nurses provide including vision and hearing screenings and all visits they make each day. 

Mrs. Andrews introduced the nurses:  Jennifer Sharp, LPN, Yolanda Williams, LPN, and Brandy Lipsey, LPN. Julane Jackson, LPN, was unable to attend the meeting.  There are a number of diagnoses in our schools for seizures, ADHD, asthma, allergies, sickle cell anemia, and this year we have more diabetes than ever before, four diabetic students that need medical care every day at three different schools just to calculate their insulin doses and make sure they get their insulin. She went on to say that the State requires two nurses per 1,500 students, but that those numbers can be increased based on the severity, or acuity, of your students.  Mrs. Andrews noted that the report shows the nurses have kept more children in the classroom via wellness check and determining whether the children need to go home or can stay in class.  She said she understood that the State is trying to pass legislation to have one nurse at every school. Mrs. Andrews said she has been working with DHH trying to get immunization clinics at the schools, for instance, to administer the Hep A vaccine, which is starting to be required at the next school year.  She needs school board approval before an immunization clinic can be brought to the district.

Mr. Marsalis asked about AEDs.  Mrs. Andrews said the AEDs, one for each school, have been ordered and paid for and should be here by the end of the school year.  Superintendent Bachus said the requirements changed for the AEDs, what we had didn’t meet the new requirements.  We are on the list of all of the superintendents where they went together and ordered a bulk number of AEDs so we’ll get them from one source or the other.

Mr. Carson requested that the matter of retaining the nurses be put back on the agenda for next month for consideration and for Superintendent Bachus to provide the board with a report as far as the need and sustainability of the additional nurses.

The Committee Reports were presented including the Special Committee for the Feasibility Study for the Construction of a New Central Office.  (See attachment)

It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Ms. Houck, and unanimously carried to approve the

minutes for March 16, 2023.

It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Forman, and unanimously carried to approve the invoices in the amount of $4,888,439 for the month of March 2023.

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

Regular Meeting

Personnel Announcements

April 13, 2023

Appointments:

Tariq Jackson, Maintenance Helper, Central Administration, effective March 27, 2023.

Tina Glasper Doss, SFS Technician, Ferriday High School, effective March 16, 2023.

Kimberly Beard, 10 month / 5 hour Sweeper, Monterey High School, effective April 12, 2023.

Resignations:

Charles Bo Sproles, Teacher, CPAMST, effective April 12, 2023.

Leaves:

Paula Tarver, return from Family Medical Leave, effective April 11, 2023.

Karen Linton, return from Family Medical / extended leave, effective April 11, 2023.

Retirements:

Kimelar Skipper, Paraprofessional, Ferriday High School, effective March 27, 2023.

Mr. Tom O’Neal gave an update on the central office building.  He reported that the two consultants we’ve hired, one for the interior and one for the exterior, met last Thursday.  He has not received their reports yet.  He informed the board that the outside bid might be a bit more than they expected, but they’d never really had a number to go by.  The update is that we are making progress, and by the next board meeting, we will have a plan.  If the bids fall within the bid law, he will work through the administration to ask you to let us go ahead and start the process.  If it is not within the bid law, he will bring it back to the board.

Mr. O’Neal said the special Transportation Committee, which was made up of Mr. Carson, Mrs. Forman, Supt. Bachus, Mr. Henderson, and O’Neal, did meet.  Mrs. Houck attended as did Mr. Wilson.  The committee asked for more time before awarding the contract.  When the RFPs were sent out, there were five categories to be considered, and they did not get to that point.  The committee did get to speak with representative of two of the three companies which submitted proposals, and that was helpful in understanding considered requirements.  O’Neal stated that the school board does not award RFPs based on price.  It is a consideration, but not the total.  It was O’Neal’s belief that the committee needs at least another meeting to discuss the avenues and directions they want to go.  He stated that he hoped to discuss this at the retreat this Saturday.

Mr. O’Neal recommended obtaining the services of a third party to handle updating the pay scales.  It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mrs. Parker, and carried to authorize Superintendent Bachus, Mr. O’Neal, and staff to look at some vendors that provide salary adjustments, etc., for the upcoming school year.  Mr. Carson and Mr. Marsalis both abstained.  Mr. Butcher named Mrs. Houck as chairperson for the committee to select a vendor.  He recommended that that committee meet prior to selecting a vendor and have their questions ready as to what they wanted the vendor to look at.

It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Forman and unanimously carried to approve the BH&A contracts to update the football fields at Ferriday High School and Vidalia High School after being reviewed by Hammonds and Sills.  

Mr. Bernie Cooley, principal at Vidalia High School, suggested working on one field at a time so both schools could use the one field if the other one was not completed by the beginning of football season.

There was discussion on the roofing project of Ferriday Lower Elementary and Monterey schools.  It was determined that the issue at Monterey High School was a problem with the gutters, not the roof.  The project at Ferriday Lower Elementary came to a really big number in cost, and Superintendent Bachus said she’d like to discuss this matter at the retreat this Saturday.

Superintendent Bachus reminded board members that the Board Member Retreat was Saturday, April 15, 2023, at the Vidalia Conference & Convention Center from 9 AM until 2 PM.  The agenda has been finalized and we’re ready for our first retreat.

There were no announcements by Superintendent Bachus.

There being no further business, it was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mr. Marsalis and unanimously carried to adjourn at 6:57 PM.