PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025
The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in Regular Session at the Ferriday Junior High School Gymnasium in Ferriday, Louisiana, on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Board 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. Fred Butcher, Mr. Fred Marsalis, Sr., Mrs. Vanessa Houck, Mr. Derrick Carson, Mrs. Angela Hayes, Mr. Matt Taunton, and Mrs. Lisette Forman. Mr. Wayne Wilson and Mrs. Dorothy Parker were absent.
There were no presentations.
The committee reports were presented. Mr. Marsalis gave the Educational Policy Committee report, Mr. Butcher gave the Financial Committee report, and Mr. Carson gave the Building & Grounds Committee report.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher and seconded by Mr. Marsalis to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2025, meeting.
Mr. Jon Guice, the school board attorney, informed President Forman that she should ask for public comment before each vote is taken.
President Forman asked if there was any public comment on the minutes from the May 15, 2025, meeting. There was none. President Forman then asked the board to vote on approving the minutes of May 15, 2025. The board voted unanimously to approve the minutes.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher and seconded by Mrs. Hayes to approve the invoices in the amount of $5,520,901 for the month of May 2025 as presented by Mrs. Patricia Sessions. President Forman asked if there was any public comment on the matter of the invoices. There was none. President Forman then asked the board to vote on approving the invoices for the month of May 2025. The board voted unanimously to approve the invoices.
There was no Personnel Report presented as there were no changes from last month.
President Forman opened discussion on the Southern Designs building lease, which ends on September 5, 2025. Mr. Butcher stated he wanted to go on record that he was not in favor of buying the Southern Designs building. He asked Superintendent Bachus to research the minutes for the wording of the motion where we decided on the building. The matter was tabled until the July meeting.
Superintendent Bachus noted that the Assistive Technology Facilitator is not a new position, but it is her recommendation that it will now be full-time as a 10-month position in the Special Education Department. By making it a 10-month position, more students will be helped, but the pay will not change much at all. It was moved by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mr. Marsalis to accept Superintendent Bachus’ recommendation to update the Assistive Technology Facilitator job description. President Forman asked for public comment, and there being none, the motion was unanimously carried.
Mr. Butcher asked Mr. Jon Guice, the school board attorney, as a point of clarity about the public comment rule, since we have comment cards and an ink pen on the table near the front door beside the agendas, is it necessary to ask for public comment on every vote? Mr. Guice said he didn’t see the comment cards, he didn’t really look for them, and was being cautious asking for public comment so there was no failure to follow the rule. As we have done in the past, he recommended that the president announce at the beginning of each meeting that the comment cards were available if anyone wants to address an action item on the agenda. President Forman asked if she could announce it at this time, and Guice told her she could. She immediately did so, saying the cards should be handed to Cindy Sanders, who was taking the minutes, and she would give the cards to the president.
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.
Mr. O’Neal presented the revisions to the 2024-25 budget and asked for public comment or questions. There were none. It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mr. Taunton and unanimously carried to approve the 2024-25 Consolidated Budget revisions.
Mr. Carson handed out to the board members a Cell Phone Usage Policy for a first reading to consider for adoption. No vote was required. It was noted this policy will be on the July agenda for a second reading.
Mr. Carson asked to combine Items F “Update on Ferriday High School Renovation Project” and K “Discuss the Status and Time Line on the Renovations at Ferriday High School.” President Forman asked if there were any objections to combining the two items. There were none. Mr. Tom O’Neal gave an update on these two items, explaining that the contracts have been signed, and the contractors are ready to get started next week, weather permitting. The preliminary work for the underground utility lines has been completed, and it looks like they are ready for Entergy. Entergy tells us they should be here around the 15th. We have a pre-construction meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, and once we have everything ironed out, a notice to proceed is issued and the time starts running. The project time frame is 120 days, but it may take up to five months to get the elevator in so we have to give some leeway on that project. Mr. O’Neal then addressed the roof project, noting that it is L-shaped, and where the academic part of the building is, instead of putting a seal on it for about $40,000 and guaranteeing it for a year, is basically throwing good money after bad, we will come back hopefully before the end of the project and rebid that part of it. The other side of the wing is going to be included in the work next week. Mr. Carson asked about a timeline for delaying the roof work. O’Neal said after the project is re-bid, 30 days after the bid is awarded. Superintendent Bachus asked if working at night would be an option with this project since school will be going on. O’Neal said that might be an option on the interior work.
It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Butcher and unanimously carried that Item G, the lease status with Mr. Weeks on the prior central office building, be tabled and added to the July agenda for executive session as a discussion with our attorney.
Mr. Carson stated that last month Mr. Marsalis said he wanted us to look into getting a permanent location for the central office. Mr. Carson noted the following options:
(1) To build a building. We have looked at this in the past so we would need updated numbers. He would want to talk with Mr. O’Neal about this.
(2) Consider the old Concordia Bank building in Ferriday and renovations.
(3) The Southern Designs building and renovations.
(4) To renovate another building.
It was then moved by Mr. Carson and seconded by Mr. Butcher to change Item H from “Report on Establishing a Permanent Central Office” to “Name a Committee to Provide a Report on Establishing a Permanent Central Office.” A roll call vote was requested to add this item to the agenda:
Mr. Fred Marsalis – yea
Mrs. Vanessa Houck – yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – yea
Mrs. Angela Hayes – yea
Mr. Matt Taunton – yea
Mr. Fred Butcher – yea
Mrs. Lisette Forman – yea
The Motion passed with 7 yeas, 2 absent, and 0 abstentions.
There was discussion on forming a committee as Mr. Carson requested to research establishing a permanent central office. President Forman asked for volunteers from the committees: from Educational Policy, Mr. Marsalis; from Finance, Mr. Butcher; from Building and Grounds, Mr. Carson. Superintendent Bachus and Mr. O’Neal were also named to the new committee. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Marsalis and unanimously carried to form this committee.
After discussion, it was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Butcher and unanimously carried to send the Drug Policy for Extracurricular Activities to the Educational Policy Committee for review and recommendations, then to our attorneys and to bring back to the board.
There was discussion of the Discipline Policy for those participating in extracurricular activities. Mr. Carson stated that there needs to be a Code of Conduct for athletes district-wide. Superintendent Bachus also noted for the past two weeks we’ve had a discipline policy committee made up of students, parents, teachers and administrators meeting with a consultant that we hired with incentive money at no cost to the district, and one of the attorneys from Hammond & Sills. Also, Coach Baldwin will be here for the Concordia Parish Coaching Camp on July 24-25, and he will be assisting us with a Code of Conduct.
In Mr. Wilson’s absence, President Forman brought up the next item, to consider making our meetings live and virtual so everyone can participate without being present. Mr. Jon Guice, the school board’s attorney recommended getting an opinion from attorney general on the question of a board member participating in the meeting and voting when that board member cannot attend the meeting because of working out of state. It was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Taunton and unanimously carried to request an attorney general’s opinion on this matter.
In Mr. Wilson’s absence, President Forman brought up considering having an athletic director for the whole parish to oversee everything for the district. It was moved by Mrs. Houck, seconded by Mr. Taunton and carried to table this matter until the special meeting on June 26, 2025. A roll call vote was requested:
Mr. Fred Marsalis – yea
Mrs. Vanessa Houck – yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – nay
Mrs. Angela Hayes – nay
Mr. Matt Taunton – yea
Mr. Fred Butcher – nay
Mrs. Lisette Forman – yea
The Motion passed with 4 yeas, 3 nays, 2 absent, and 0 abstentions.
In Mr. Wilson’s absence, President Forman brought up the discussion on how much sick days are going to count against employees. After discussion, President Forman tabled the matter in order to get advice from our attorney.
In Mr. Wilson’s absence, President Forman asked for information on the process and procedures for hiring for positions with the school district. Mrs. Rhonda Moore addressed the questions listed on the agenda: (1) Are there posted announcements for individual jobs? Yes, there are ads placed in the Concordia Sentinel, our website, and also Front Line. (2) Is every job opening interviewed for by a committee and how is selection made? Yes, the committee discusses the qualifications of the applicants and recommends the most appropriate applicant. (3) Are there individuals serving in positions who are not certified yet there are certified candidates available in the district? Yes, in the case of teachers, there are.
There was consideration of the Superintendent’s recommendation for the termination of Mr. Glenn Henderson, maintenance supervisor. Mr. Henderson, with his attorney present, requested that this matter be discussed in open session rather than during executive session. He then addressed the items listed in the letter he received from Superintendent Bachus. Following Mr. Henderson’s presentation, Superintendent Bachus then explained her recommendation for his termination, addressing the same items. President Forman asked for a motion on the matter. It was moved by Mr. Butcher and seconded by Mr. Marsalis that this matter be given to a committee for review of the situation and report back to the board at the special meeting on June 26, 2025. A roll call vote was requested:
Mr. Fred Marsalis – yea
Mrs. Vanessa Houck – yea
Mr. Derrick Carson – yea
Mrs. Angela Hayes – yea
Mr. Matt Taunton – yea
Mr. Fred Butcher – yea
Mrs. Lisette Forman – nay
The Motion passed with 6 yeas, 1 nay, 2 absent, and 0 abstentions.
Superintendent’s Announcements:
· Superintendent Bachus gave an over view of the New York City trip, which was last week, saying that it was enjoyed by everyone.
· There is a football coaching clinic coming up in July 24 and 25, and the board members are welcome to attend.
There was no executive session.
There being no further business, it was moved by Mr. Carson, seconded by Mr. Butcher and unanimously carried to adjourn. The time was 8:28 PM.