PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2024
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 11, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Mrs. Lisette Forman. After prayer and the Pledge, Mrs. Forman 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., Mrs. Lisette Forman, Mr. Matt Taunton, Mrs. Angela Hayes, and Mr. Fred Butcher. Mrs. Vanessa Houck arrived at 6:08 PM, and Mr. Derrick Carson arrived at 6:15 PM.
Mr. Tom O’Neal gave an update on the ESSER projects.
· The Vidalia HVAC units have practically all been installed. There are still a few electric heaters that have to be done, but for all practical purposes the HVAC units in Vidalia have all been installed.
· We were able to get started with the Monterey HVAC installations over the spring break. Buildings A, B and part of C were completed, which would equate to approximately a 60% completion rate. Once getting to a good stopping point, it was decided that we should wait until the students were out for summer break to complete this project.
· The Vidalia/Monterey window replacements were released for production several months ago, with delivery expectations of May. As of today, the contractor could not confirm the actual date of delivery, but there is no reason to think that they will not be received as projected. We would like to complete the HVAC project at Monterey, before starting with the windows. Efforts are being made to complete the HVAC in June, or shortly after school lets out for summer break.
· The HVAC submittals for the Ferriday project has been worked out and the units are on order. With the furnace split units having a lead time of approximately eight weeks, expectations for delivery will be during the month of June. Some of the heat pumps are in stock so we do expect this aspect of the project to get started in May. Assuming our projections for equipment delivery are met, the HVAC installations should be completed in August.
· The shop drawings for the Ferriday window replacements have all been approved and released for production. With an anticipated delivery of 16 weeks, we would expect to receive delivery in mid-July. We do expect that we will meet our September deadline for installation.
The committee reports were presented. Mrs. Parker gave the Education Policy report. Mrs. Forman gave the Finance Committee report. Mr. Wilson gave the Building & Grounds Committee report.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mrs. Parker, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on March 14, 2024.
Mr. Fred Marsalis, Jr., presented the financial report. It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Taunton and unanimously carried to approve invoices in the amount of $5,017,989 for the month of March 2024.
The personnel report was available in the board members’ binders. Mrs. Rhonda Moore presented the report noting that nothing had changed since the committee meeting on Friday.
Concordia Parish School Board
Personnel Announcements
Regular Board Meeting
March 14, 2024
Leaves:
Audrey Davis, Teacher, Ferriday High School, return from FMLA / extended medical leave, effective March 4, 2024.
Doris Malone, Teacher, Ferriday Junior High School, FMLA/extended medical leave, effective February 7, 2024 through March 12, 2024.
Appointments:
Reagan Fraze, Theatre Teacher, Ferriday High School and Vidalia High School, effective February 19, 2024.
Resignations:
Ponchella Lee, Paraprofessional, Ferriday Lower Elementary School, effective
February 22, 2024.
Gerri Lipsey, Speech Pathologist, Special Populations, effective March 15, 2024.
Marcisha Johnson, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective February 29, 2024.
Correction:
Shirley Perkins, 10 Month Janitor, Vidalia Junior High School, to 10 Month Janitor, Ferriday High School, effective December 4, 2023.
Superintendent Bachus requested to table the discussion on the support personnel compensation plan. She noted there is a letter from her to the board members outlining the steps of the budget process, and during that process the matter of a possible increase in the pay of support personnel will be considered.
Mrs. Forman stated that we have a six-month lease of the Southern Designs building for us to consider tonight. The initial lease period is for six months covering 3,750 square feet of office space. After the initial term, the lease contains an option for an additional 3-year period covering the entire property containing 32,000 square feet including the office space and warehousing. The initial term does provide for an automatic extension on the option if a notice of termination is not provided within a 30-day period of termination. After discussion, Mr. Carson expressed concerns about the longer term and indicated that should the building owner consider a shorter renewal period it would be more acceptable. Upon further discussion, it was moved by Mr. Taunton, seconded by Mr. Wilson and carried that a six-month lease on the office space be accepted, but that it is to contain no options. A roll call vote was taken:
Mr. Wilson – yea
Mrs. Parker – yea
Mr. Marsalis, Sr., - yea
Mr. Carson – yea
Mr. Taunton – yea
Mrs. Hayes – yea
Mrs. Forman – yea
Mrs. Houck – yea
Mr. Butcher – yea
The vote was unanimous with 9 yeas, 0 nays, and no abstentions or absences.
There was no executive session.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mrs. Parker and Mr. Marsalis, Sr., to add Item D to the agenda, that item being to name the Ferriday High School Gym after Bishop Robert Cade, who was an outstanding coach for basketball, football and track during his time at the school. A roll call vote was taken as follows:
Mr. Wilson – yea
Mrs. Parker – yea
Mr. Marsalis, Sr., - yea
Mr. Carson – yea
Mr. Taunton – yea
Mrs. Hayes – yea
Mrs. Forman – yea
Mrs. Houck – yea
Mr. Butcher – yea
The vote was unanimous with 9 yeas, 0 nays, and no abstentions or absences.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Marsalis and unanimously carried to name the Ferriday High School Gymnasium for Bishop Robert Cade.
Superintendent Bachus made the following announcements:
· The Retirement Celebration for Concordia Parish School District will be Thursday, May 2, at 6:00 PM at the Vidalia Conference & Convention Center.
· The school district is holding a job fair on Wednesday, April 24, also at the Vidalia Conference & Convention Center from 8:30 AM to 12:00 noon.
· Our Honors Banquet, which you all have an invitation to, will be Tuesday, April 30.
· We have budget meetings on Thursday, April 18, and Thursday, April 25.
There being no further business, it was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Carson and unanimously carried to adjourn at 6:45 PM.