PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1993.

The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in regular session at the Concordia Parish School Board Office, in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Tuesday, December 7, 1993, at five-thirty (5:30) o'clock p.m.  The meeting was called to order by the Honorable J. W. Calhoun, President, who declared that the Board, after prayer by Dr. Richard Lisk and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, was ready for the transaction of business.

Members present were the Honorable J. W. Calhoun, Rev. Johnnie Brown, Mrs. Marie Cowan, Mr. Jerry King, Mrs. Polly Miley, Mr. Manson Nelson, Mr. Charles Partridge, Mr. Walter Stampley and Mrs. Georgia Washington.

Members absent:  None.

It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mrs. Cowan and carried to approve minutes of the November 2 and November 16, 1993, meetings.

Mrs. Gloria Dangerfield, Assistant Director of Business Affairs, presented the invoices for November and answered questions.  It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Rev. Brown and carried to approve invoices totalling $1,518,553.92.

The Financial Report was presented by Mr. Tom O'Neal, Director of Business Affairs, who answered questions and discussed revenues and loss of Minimum Foundation Program funding.

Mr. H. L. Irvin, Supervisor of Supportive Services, provided information on cost of repair to the roof of the Clayton School building.  Superintendent Lee informed the Board that no work would be done without Board approval.

It was moved by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mr. Nelson to reinstate an additional 8.0 cents per mile operational reimbursement for school bus drivers.  Superintendent Lee stated that he could not recommend reinstatement of the mileage reimbursement because of the cost to the general fund of $25,830, in addition to an expected loss of transportation funds from the state of $36,482.  Superintendent Lee stated that the Board could not afford the approximate total cost to the general fund of over $62,000.  Following lengthy discussion, including comments from Rev. Brown, Mr. Partridge and Mr. King in support of the motion, the motion failed 5-4 on a roll call vote:

YEAS:             Rev. Brown, Mr. King, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Partridge

NAYS: Mr. Calhoun, Mrs. Cowan, Mrs. Miley, Mr. Stampley, Mrs. Washington

It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mrs. Miley and carried to approve standardized distances for purposes of travel reimbursements.

On a motion by Mr. Nelson and second by Mrs. Washington, the following resolution was approved unanimously:

                                                                  RESOLUTION

WHEREAS,  Concordia Parish School Board recognizes the service to education provided by Concordia Technical Institute in Catahoula, Concordia, and south Tensas Parishes; and

WHEREAS,  Concordia Technical Institute wishes to more fully serve the tri-parish community by changing its name to one less geographically limiting since residents of other parishes tend to think of the school as serving Concordia residents primarily; and

WHEREAS, Shelby M. Jackson is the most renowned educator produced by Concordia Parish and was a major figure in Louisiana public education for more than thirty years, being involved in vocational education at the secondary school level and in the state department for fifteen years, before serving sixteen years as state superintendent of education; and

WHEREAS,  Mr. Jackson was born and raised in Monterey on the Black River which divides Concordia and Catahoula Parishes, and his many relatives live in the area today; and

WHEREAS,  the proposed name change will do much to eliminate the identity problem the school has encountered and also bring overdue recognition for Shelby M. Jackson's contributions to education in Louisiana ;and inasmuch as the school advisory council and key members of the community wholeheartedly support the proposed name change; now,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THAT Concordia Parish School Board joins the Concordia Technical Institute in its request to change its name to the Shelby M. Jackson Memorial Technical Institute.

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Superintendent Lee presented a sample policy on school employees committing crimes.  Following discussion about the need for a policy covering this situation, it was moved by Mrs. Miley, seconded by Mr. Partridge and carried 7-2 to consider this the first reading of the policy "Investigation of Employee Wrongdoing."  Mr. Calhoun and Mr. King voted no.

It was moved by Mrs. Miley, seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried to open bids for lease of agriculture and hunting rights on Section 16 T7N R8E.  The bids were as follows:

Bobby Arthur                           Composite bid of $24,005 per year

Marcus Evans                           Composite bid of $26,001.99 per year

Donald H. Marshall Farms        Composite bid of $29,330 per year for

  the first 3 years with the possibility of

  escalation in years 4 and 5.

Because of the complexity of the bid by Marshall Farms, the bid was referred to a committee consisting of Mr. O'Neal and Mrs. Dangerfield to review the bid for agreement with the specifications.  It was moved by Mrs. Washington, seconded by Rev. Brown and carried to take the bids under advisement.

Mr. King commented on the role of committees, expressing his desire for the entire Board to be more fully informed about issues which have been handled by committees.  Following general discussion, it was agreed to continue to meet twice a month as previously discussed and to use the second meeting as a committee meeting.

Mr. O'Neal provided information on the bids opened earlier.  He clarified that the bid by Marshall Farms was in fact the high bid with the possibility of an increase over the base bid of $29,330 through an escalation clause.  Mr. O'Neal reported that Mr. Marshall was concerned about two clauses in the lease.  Following discussion of these two clauses, Mr. Partridge objected to changing any parts of the lease which had previously been approved by the Board.  After Mr. O'Neal assured the Board that the bid met the advertised specifications, he recommended the Marshall Farms bid as the high bid.  It was moved by Mr. King, seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried 8-1 with Mr. Partridge voting no.

Superintendent Lee informed the Board that he had been subpoenaed to appear in January in Houston, Texas, at the trial of the man charged with the death of his son.  He stated that he would like some direction from the Board as to how to handle his absence from the office.  He pointed out that Mrs. Lee would be covered under item number four of "Emergency Leave" of the sick leave policy (File GBRIB).  Following expressions of support from the Board, it was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Mr. King and carried to grant Superintendent and Mrs. Lee indefinite leave for the purpose of attending the trial.

It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried to approve maternity leave for Rhonda Cavin from January 13, 1994, until March 11, 1994.

It was moved by Mr. Nelson, seconded by Rev. Brown and carried to adjourn at 6:50 p.m.

James E. Lee, Superintendent                   J. W. Calhoun, President