PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in a Public Hearing Session at the Vidalia City Hall meeting room in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Thursday, September 14, 2023, 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. Wayne Wilson, Mrs. Dorothy Parker, Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr., Mr. Derrick Carson, Mr. Matt Taunton, Mrs. Angela Hayes, Mrs. Lisette Forman, and Mr. Fred Butcher. Mrs. Vanessa Houck arrived at 6:08 PM.
Mr. Tom O’Neal, Business Director, opened the public hearing by giving the Board Members and members of the General Public a brief overview of the consolidated budget for fiscal year 2023-2024. Board members were given copies of the consolidated budget. He indicated that the primary reason for the hearing was to allow members of the general public to have input and comments concerning the budget.
With no questions being presented by either the board members or the general public, the hearing was closed at 6:13 P.M.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 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, September 14, 2023, at 6:13 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Fred Butcher following the close of the public hearing. Mr. Butcher, after prayer and the Pledge, declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.
John Blanchard, the school board attorney, asked for a board member to make a motion to add an item to the agenda for executive session, which will be Item VII. Executive Session, B.:
Strategy session and/or action, as necessary, regarding litigation entitled Smith, et. al. v. Concordia Parish School Board, et. al., Civil Action No. 65-11577 on the docket of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
It was moved by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mr. Marsalis, Sr. Blanchard then asked for a roll call vote to affirm the addition to the agenda.
The vote was as follows:
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 vote was unanimous, 9 yeas, 0 nays, and no abstentions.
Brant Young with Bryant Hammett & Associates was not present so Mr. Tom O’Neal gave an update on the football fields in Ferriday and Vidalia. He reported the fields were supposed to be striped today, and the goal posts are up. Mrs. Forman said she wanted it to be noted that there is a concern about playing on the fields too early. She is in contact with someone from LSU to make sure our fields are going to withstand the roughness of play. We don’t want to spend all this money and then our fields not be quite ready. It won’t be tomorrow. Everybody will get to play football tomorrow, but if LSU says that we need to shut it down, I would like everybody to know we may be revisiting that.
Marco Gonzalez gave an update on the ESSER projects. He went over the bids that were received this week for the Vidalia and Monterey schools for the windows and the HVAC systems. There are four bidders on the windows and two bidders on the HVAC systems. Hope Enterprises was the apparent low bidder on the windows.
Windows Alternate Total HVAC
Base Bid Bid__ Windows Bid__
Hope Enterprises $1,033,800 $188,900 = $1,222,700 $2,555,000
Combined, the two bids of Hope Enterprises is $3,777,700 for windows and HVAC. Our budgeted cost with Waycasters as the design team was $4,291,895 so we’re good with those bids and the alternates for both of those campuses. We’ll have savings available to hold as contingency funds of about $500,000, which is good since we’re replacing existing windows in older buildings.
Gonzalez stated that next Tuesday we’ll be opening the bids for Ferriday area schools, and on October 3rd, we’ll open the HVAC bids.
It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mrs. Forman, and unanimously carried to give Superintendent Bachus and her staff the authority to accept the bids for the windows and the HVAC systems project of the lowest bidder that meets the specifications and comes in within our budget.
It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mr. Marsalis, Sr., and unanimously carried to give Superintendent Bachus and her staff the authority to award the contracts to the lowest bidder who meets the specifications for the Monterey and Vidalia schools.
Leigh Anne Mason, the sponsor for the new parish-wide theatre program, which she has named “Concordia Parish Players,” told the board members about the grant the school district received for theatre. She has already planned several events, one in which she obtained 50 tickets to see a Broadway musical showing in New Orleans and the theatre students are going to perform a “Toy School” Christmas play for all the elementary school. She is planning a spring musical as well. Mrs. Mason will be adding an ancillary certificate of performing arts to her teaching certificate so we can offer theatre classes next year. Students Skylar Carson and Cameron Abney spoke to the board members letting them know how excited they were about the upcoming drama club and that they thought so many students could benefit from it.
The committee reports were presented.
The Finance Committee reported discussing the $1,000 stipend from the State. Evan Alverez, another board attorney who was present, requested that the board wait before acting on that matter. He explained there is a state statute that says if any employee is rated ineffective, he/she is not allowed to get a salary increase in any given year. Hammond & Sills has requested clarification from the State as to whether they will consider this stipend as salary, or not. The State will be sending out a ruling on it in the next week or two. Alverez recommended tabling the issue maybe until the next meeting so the state will have answered this question. It was moved by Mr. Marsalis, Sr., seconded by Mrs. Forman, and unanimously carried to table this discussion until we get additional information. If necessary, a special meeting will be called authorizing the payments to be made as soon as possible.
The Building and Grounds Committee reported on the sound systems at the Ferriday High School stadium and at the Vidalia High School stadium. The systems should be installed by the first games in each stadium. The visitors’ seating in Ferriday was discussed. A structural engineer looked at the bleachers, and two welders have looked at the bleachers. However, the welders disagreed with the engineer’s recommendation. Mr. Glenn Henderson, maintenance supervisor, has contacted two more people to look at the bleachers and consider doing the work. Mr. O’Neal is attempting to locate temporary bleachers. Mr. Butcher said he will contact Alcorn University and see where they get temporary bleachers for their big games.
It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mr. Marsalis, Sr., and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on August 10, 2023.
Mr. Fred Marsalis, Jr., gave the financial report. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Hayes and unanimously carried to approve invoices in the amount of $4,438,446 for the month of August 2023.
Mrs. Rhonda Moore presented the personnel report. The report was available in the board members’ binders.
Concordia Parish School Board
Regular Meeting
Personnel Announcements
September 14, 2023
Leaves:
Najee Herrington, Assistant Principal, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, FMLA/maternity leave, effective August 22, 2023 through November 14, 2023.
Yolanda Williams, School Nurse, Special Populations, FMLA, effective August 24, 2023 through October 4, 2023.
Mary Fleming, Teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, FMLA, effective August 7, 2023 through September 4, 2023.
Mary Fleming, Teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, return from FMLA, effective September 5, 2023.
Brenda Logan, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High School, return from FMLA, effective August 7, 2023.
Appointments:
Darlene Pickett, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High School, effective August 7, 2023.
Charlie Tisdale, Paraprofessional, Monterey High School, effective August 9, 2023.
Regina Harris, Teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, effective August 25, 2023.
Stacie Nolan, Educational Diagnostician, Special Populations, effective August 8, 2023.
Lauren Hoge, Teacher, Vidalia Junior High School, effective August 7, 2023.
Carolyn Holmes, Paraprofessional, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 9, 2023.
Itwala Green, School Food Service Technician, Ferriday Junior High School, effective August 9, 2023.
Arnell Jefferson, School Food Service Technician, Monterey High School, effective August 9, 2023.
Alex Dunaway, Print Shop Manager, Media Center, effective August 28, 2023.
Jennifer Adams, Teacher, FHS Freshman Academy, effective September 7, 2023.
Tyshica Rodgers, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 7, 2023.
Carlisha McKeel, Paraprofessional, Ferriday Junior High School, effective September 6, 2023.
Andrea’ Skipper, Paraprofessional, Ferriday Lower Elementary, effective August 9, 2023.
Paula Gaylor, Paraprofessional, Vidalia Junior High School, effective August 9, 2023.
Bernita Dunbar, Academic Coach, Central Administration, effective July 25, 2023.
Resignations:
James Jones, Behavior Interventionist, Ferriday High School, effective August 7, 2023.
Kristen Thurman, Teacher, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, effective August 7, 2023.
Christie Berkley, Teacher, Ferriday Lower Elementary, effective August 5, 2023.
Kim Graves, Teacher, Concordia Parish Academy of MST, effective September 6, 2023.
Ella Beach, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 5, 2023.
Kristen Cole, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary, effective August 5, 2023.
Barbie Sanders, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective August 5, 2023.
(retirement rescinded)
Retirements:
Estelle Foster, School Food Service Technician, Ferriday Junior High, effective August 28, 2023.
Franklin Bernie Cooley, Principal, (On Assignment), effective October 1, 2023.
Transfers:
Jane Yon, Teacher, Vidalia Upper Elementary to Teacher, Concordia Parish Academy of MST, effective August 7, 2023.
Estelle Foster, School Food Service Technician, Vidalia Junior High School to School Food Service Technician, Ferriday Junior High, effective August 9, 2023.
It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mrs. Houck and unanimously carried to adopt the consolidated budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year presented by Mr. O’Neal during the public hearing.
The bids for the Vidalia/Monterey ESSER projects were discussed during Mr. Gonzalez’ presentation.
The Ferriday ESSER projects were discussed during Mr. Gonzalez’ presentation.
Mr. O’Neal requested that board members consider increasing the bus drivers’ repair allowance from $700 to $1,000. It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mrs. Parker and unanimously carried that the bus drivers repair allowance be increased from $700 to $1,000.
Superintendent Bachus introduced the next item, saying she had made a mistake during the meeting last month when she said the increase in pay for the Executive Business Manager “was for a higher education degree as they had done for all other positions.” The increase is not 15%, but 5.5%. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Parker and carried with Mr. Marsalis, Sr., abstaining, to clarify the prior board action and correct the percentage of the increase in pay to 5.5%. Mrs. Forman requested a roll call vote.
The vote was as follows:
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
The motion carried, 8 yeas, 0 nays, and 1 abstention.
The next item, “Additional Compensation from the State,” was discussed and tabled earlier in the meeting.
The item, “Major Growth and Working Hard – Algebra I VJH, was tabled until next month.
Mr. Carson led discussion about the repair work needed on the Ferriday High School bleachers. He noted the issue is going to be what can we do, or if anything is going to be needed from the board as far as temporary bleachers or whatever plan the Superintendent and her team decide. Superintendent Bachus noted that she and Mr. Henderson have been working diligently on this and asked the board to give her until tomorrow to work out a solution. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Forman, and unanimously carried to give Superintendent Bachus the authority to take necessary action to ensure the accommodations for the visitors to Ferriday High School football games until the situation can be remedied with the visitors’ side bleachers.
Mr. Butcher said he had an announcement, then handed out envelopes to the board members, asking them at a later time to look over the contents, which is the superintendent’s evaluation. He requested that they let him know if they thought anything needed to be changed or looked at, and they could do so before they go through the evaluation process. He noted that Superintendent Bachus also received a copy of the evaluation.
It was moved by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mrs. Parker for the board to go into executive session to discuss litigation during the current central office lease and legal issues in accordance with La. R.S. 42:17(A)(10) and La. Code of Evidence Article 506. A roll call vote was requested.
The vote was as follows:
Mr. Wayne Wilson Yea
Mrs. Dorothy Parker Yea
Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr. Yes
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 carried, 9 yeas, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions.
It was then moved by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mrs. Forman that during executive session the board consider a strategy session and/or action, as necessary, regarding litigation entitled Smith, et. al. v. Concordia Parish School Board, et. al., Civil Action No. 65-11577 on the docket of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
The vote was as follows:
Mr. Wayne Wilson Yea
Mrs. Dorothy Parker Yea
Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr. Yes
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 carried, 9 yeas, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions.
The time was 7:12 PM.
It was moved by Mrs. Parker, seconded by Mr. Marsalis, Sr., and unanimously carried for the board to return to regular session at 8:30 PM.
Mr. Butcher reported that the items listed as the reason for executive session were discussed. John Blanchard recommended that the board authorize Superintendent Bachus and legal counsel to negotiate the building lease issues as discussed in executive session.
It was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mrs. Hayes, and unanimously carried to authorize Superintendent Bachus and legal counsel to negotiate the building lease with the owner of the central office building as was discussed in executive session.
Announcements:
Superintendent Bachus reported that “A Day with the Superintendent” went very well. She thanked the board members for participating in that activity and told them it was her goal to have such a day about every other month.
There being no further business, it was moved by Mrs. Forman, seconded by Mr. Taunton and unanimously carried to adjourn at 8:30 PM.