PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 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, June 13, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Lisette Forman. After prayer and the Pledge, President Forman declared that the Board was ready for the transaction of business.
Board members present were Mr. Derrick Carson, Mrs. Angela Hayes, Mr. Wayne Wilson, Mr. Matt Taunton and Mrs. Lisette Forman. Mr. Fred Butcher arrived at approximately 6:30 PM.
Absent were Mrs. Dorothy Parker, Mrs. Vanessa Houck, and Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr.
Keith Bridgham, with Volkert, Inc., reported on the progress of the ESSER projects.
· Most of the work is being done at Monterey High School right now with the windows project. They are substantially complete, and the intention is to move to the Vidalia High School window project within the next week or two weeks. That keeps them on track for the windows project.
· The HVAC crew is working at Vidalia Lower Elementary on the mini-gym and what the drawings call Building D. They expect to have those wrapped up in late June or early July.
· At the Ferriday Junior High School, in the annex all those units are set. In the primary educational facility, there are 14 units to swap out. The contractor has 8 of them swapped out at this point.
· When the Junior High is completed, the contractor will move the crew across the parking lot to the Upper Elementary within the next couple of weeks.
· There is a separate crew at the Lower Elementary. They have three units left to swap out.
· When that crew gets finished probably by the end of this month or first of next month, they will move to the High School.
· At the Vidalia Junior High, the Upper Elementary and the Lower Elementary, they are all substantially complete. The contractor plans to schedule an inspection and a punch list with the architect and engineer in the coming weeks.
President Forman requested to add an item to Presentations, with Superintendent Bachus presenting additional 2024-25 budget considerations. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Taunton to add this item to the agenda. A roll call vote was taken as follows:
Mr. Carson – Yea
Mrs. Hayes – Yea
Mr. Wilson – Yea
Mr. Taunton – Yea
Mrs. Forman – Yea.
The motion passed unanimously with 5 yeas, 0 nays, and 4 absent.
Superintendent Bachus stated that she was presenting additional budget considerations for General Fund for 2024-25. She noted that this information was included in the board’s FYI packet last week.
Compensation:
· Continuation of my recommendation for support staff to receive 5%. You already have the document as to who that will be as well as what that will cost the district. The General Fund component of that is $139,464, and that does include fringe benefits.
· Director/Supervisor to Principal Pay Gap – the intent of this recommendation is to establish a meaningful distinction and compensation between principals and supervisor roles as well as between supervisor and director positions. By creating these gaps we aim to provide stronger incentives for the individuals considering these pivotal roles. As you are aware, all of the higher positions on a district level, we typically don’t have people apply for them. We did have four people who applied for secondary director my first year as superintendent, and as many of you are aware, all four dropped out when they found out that they were going to be taking massive pay cuts to go from a principal to a director so that year I did that job myself.
· Directors cannot make less than the highest paid supervisor, or administrators with a pay gap between directors and supervisors no less than $600. The pay gap between directors and principals no less than $1,600.
· Supervisors cannot make less than the highest paid principal with a pay gap of no less than $600.
Grant-Writer:
Instead of hiring a full-time employee, where we sometimes just look at the salary, but keep in mind that we pay up to 30% in fringe benefits. So hiring a full-time grant writer wouldn’t be cost effective when we can get one for $36,000. As you all know, I have been the primary grant writer for our district, which I enjoy, but writing the grant is not as hard as managing them. As you can see, I have branched out into other components of this job. I look more at the facilities and the budget and numbers than I did in my first year as superintendent. I do need the time and opportunity to ensure that we don’t have a third year of deficit spending and to ensure that our facilities and the management of them is up to par with our issue with the Department of Justice. I’m asking that the board allow me at least for the next fiscal year a project manager for the Ferriday High School project. This is something the board is already discussing, it’s already approved, but I want to make sure it is in the budget.
Athletic Directors now coaching:
I won’t get into the Department of Justice, you know the issues with that and not meeting unitary status with that component which is something we were all surprised with. In order to ensure that we meet that status, I’m going to need to collaborate kind of hard to write policies and procedures for that when you don’t have them at the table. They are going to be an intricate part of our building a robust sports program in Concordia Parish.
Various Roofing Projects:
I did put a caveat in here that the Building & Grounds Committee will prioritize this. The amount of $500,000 has been set aside for roofing projects. These projects include CPA, CEC, FLE, FUE, and MHS, which all have roofing issues.
ADA Compliance:
That is a non-negotiable item.
· The law does not allow us to use regular water fountains anymore so we will have to use the water bottle refilling stations in Vidalia and Monterey. There’s no need to use the refilling stations in Ferriday because you can’t drink the water. We will have to continue to provide water to those schools.
· MHS needs a wheelchair ramp.
· VLE has a wall that needs to be cut to ensure that we have adequate space for some students that need changing tables, etc. That’s based on students going up to the school from VLE.
Expenses:
These are also non-negotiable.
· Intercom system, $200,000 with Fire Tech. CPA and VHS need a full system. FLE identified their as unstable. FJH’s gym needs an intercom. MHS works sometimes. VLE works, but it has that awful sound. We are looking at another vendor, but our tech people think this one is the best.
Maintenance Vehicles:
This is the high end for these vehicles so this number may come down. We’ve already approved the vehicles for the next fiscal year, but I just want to include them here. Estimating $90,000.
Drainage Issues:
We have some major drainage issues at two of our schools.
· CEC drainage costs estimated at $17,127.94, just a problem when it rains, and
· MHS drainage costs estimated $90,000, also a problem when it rains.
School Allotments:
We know everything has increased in cost, but school allotments have not increased in many years. I’m asking for the allotments per school to increase from $200 to $500.
Food Labs:
We have food labs at FHS, VHS, and MHS. As we know, the cost of food has gone up. I’m asking for an increase in their food allotment of an additional $200 per school.
Extracurricular:
Athletics – requesting an additional $500 per school, totaling $3,000.
Flags – in band, requesting $500 for the two schools with flag corps, or $1,0000
Cheer - $400 per school for 5 schools, totaling $2,000
Dance - $400 per school for 3 schools, totaling $1,200
All this totals $1,146,691. These are not new numbers, just some things that we discussed wanting to do. There are lots of things I want to do, but I wanted to start this discussion off with things we need to do.
The committee reports were presented. Mrs. Hayes gave the Education Policy Committee report. President Forman gave the Finance Committee report. Mr. Carson gave the Building & Grounds Committee report.
It was moved by Mr. Carson., seconded by Mrs. Hayes, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on May 16, 2024. The motion was immediately rescinded by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mrs. Hayes as Mr. Taunton noted an error in the minutes in which he was listed as offering the second to the motion approving the financial report of April. Mr. Taunton was not present at the May meeting. The minutes of May 16, 2024, will be corrected to show that it was moved by Mr. Wilson and seconded by Mrs. Hayes to approve the financial report for April 2024. Thus, the minutes of the May meeting were not approved. The corrected version will be presented at the July meeting.
Mr. Tom O’Neal presented the financial report. It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mrs. Hayes and unanimously carried to approve invoices in the amount of $5,773,829 for the month of May 2024.
The personnel report was available in the board members’ binders. Rhonda Moore, HR Director, noted that changes since the committee meeting on Monday were highlighted.
Concordia Parish School Board
Personnel Announcements for the Regular Board Meeting
May 16, 2024
Leaves:
Joyce Minor, SFS Technician, Vidalia Junior High School, FMLA/extended medical leave, effective March 9, 2024 through May 21, 2024.
Deborah Smith, Teacher, Ferriday Lower Elementary School, effective April 1, 2024 through May 21, 2024.
Jasmine Upchurch, Teacher, Ferriday High School, maternity leave, effective March 18, 2024 through May 21, 2024.
Resignations:
Anjerica Haynes, SFS Manager, Ferriday Upper Elementary School, effective May 13, 2024.
Jessica Remington, Teacher, Concordia Parish Academy of MST, effective July 28, 2024.
Shirley Cruel, Teacher, Ferriday Junior High School, effective May 28, 2024.
Linda Dixon, Teacher, Ferriday Lower Elementary School, effective May 30, 2024.
Tema Larry, Teacher, Vidalia High School, effective July 31, 2024.
Brittney Evans, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective June 1, 2024.
Javareous Dunbar, 12 month Janitor, Ferriday Junior High School, effective May 22, 2024.
Retirements:
Joseph Nicosia, Sr., Teacher, Concordia Education Center, effective May 31, 2024.
Pamela Ganey, Teacher, Monterey High School, effective May 22, 2024.
Telina Book, Teacher, Monterey High School, effective July 26, 2024.
Patricia Poole, Teacher, Monterey High School, effective May 22, 2024.
Cynthia Johnson, Assistant Principal, Vidalia High School, effective July 20, 2024.
Kathy Graning, Teacher, Vidalia Upper Elementary School, effective June 30, 2024.
Appointments:
Stephanie Holland, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective July 29, 2024.
Harley Metcalf, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective July 29, 2024.
Ashley Lewis, Teacher, Vidalia Lower Elementary School, effective July 29, 2024.
Rachel Armfield, Teacher, Concordia Parish Academy of MST, effective July 29, 2024.
Terminations:
Aaron Haynes, Teacher/Band Director, Ferriday High School, effective May 16, 2024.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Taunton and unanimously carried to approve the amendment to the Pupil Progression Plan as presented by Superintendent Bachus and detailed below:
Amendment to Pupil Progression Plan as a response to the revision of Bulletin 1566, which requires that third- and fourth-grade students who score below grade level on an end-of-year literacy assessment must receive 30 hours of summer literacy interventions consisting of explicit, targeted literacy instruction based on the science of reading or they will be retained.
The revision is to address students who fail to attend summer literacy interventions. Before retaining a student, a meeting of the SBLC Committee may be called by the school or parent to determine whether retention or another option for additional student support is in the student’s best interest. The following things must be met when requiring the additional support:
30 hours must be completed by the start of the school year and must be done using an LDOE Literacy Invention conducted by staff or a vendor on the Steve Carter Tutoring List.
Progress must be monitored and documented by the SBLC Chair on the Literacy Plan template.
Must be completed by the first day of school.
Any staff doing the tutoring must be Act 108 trained (state requirement).
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mrs. Hayes and unanimously carried to approve the sanding of the football fields as part of routine maintenance of the fields.
Mr. Tom O’Neal presented the 2023-24 Consolidated Budget Revision. He also stated that Concordia Parish School Board is debt-free. It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Wilson and unanimously carried to approve the 2023-24 Consolidated Budget Revision.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Carson and unanimously carried to appoint the Concordia Sentinel as the official journal of the Concordia Parish School Board.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Butcher and unanimously carried to approve the 10-month and 11-month employee calendar for 2024-25.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Hayes and unanimously carried to approve the 12-month employee calendar for 2024-25.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Taunton and unanimously carried to approve the first reading of the following policies: JGCF-24 AND JGCFA-24.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Taunton and unanimously carried to enter into executive session for 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 time was 7:05 PM.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Butcher and unanimously carried to return to regular session. The time was 8:22 PM. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Wilson that the board accepted the counsel’s recommendation.
Superintendent Bachus made the following announcements:
· Syrah Technologies sponsored our picnic table competition for Ferriday, Vidalia, and Monterey. Syrah paid for all the supplies for each school to build three very long picnic tables. The tables might be sold or raffled off so she encouraged board members to be sure to buy a table or a ticket.
There being no further business, it was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mrs. Hayes and unanimously carried to adjourn at 8:25 PM.