March 1, 1994

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 1994.

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, March 1, 1994, 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 Rev. Thomas Hanley, and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, was ready for the transaction of business.

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

Members absent: Rev. Johnnie Brown

Gloria Dangerfield, Assistant Director of Business Affairs, presented invoices and answered questions. It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Mrs. Miley and carried to approve invoices totaling $1,801,332.93.

It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Mrs. Miley and carried to approve minutes of February 1, 1994.

President Calhoun recognized Mr. Nelson to report on the superintendent's evaluation. It was agreed that Mr. Nelson would handle the post-evaluation conference with Superintendent Lee.

Revisions on policies GBA and IKD were presented for the second reading. It was moved by Mr. King, seconded by Mrs. Cowan and carried to approve the following revisions:

Policy GBA: Change the wording to allow a teacher to receive pay for an advanced degree during the year in which it is received rather than during the next school year, provided that documentation be submitted by October 1 of the current school year.

Policy IKD: Revise the last paragraph to allow for graduation exercises to be held on Thursday as well as Friday.

The Policy and Procedure for Use of Video Cameras on Concordia Parish School Buses was presented for the second reading. It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Mr. Nelson,

and carried 7-1, with Mr. Stampley voting no.

It was moved by Mr. Stampley, seconded by Mrs. Miley and carried to approve the following resolution:

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Concordia Parish School Board grants employees hired for the school year or longer a minimum of ten days sick leave per year because of personal illness or other emergencies without loss of pay; and,

WHEREAS, such leave, when not used, is allowed to accumulate to the credit of the employee without limitation and additional sick leave may be granted by the Board with such reduction in pay as is established by law; and

WHEREAS, Concordia Parish School Board policy GBRIB provides that an employee who is absent for six or more consecutive days shall be required to present a certificate from a physician certifying such absence upon return to work; and

WHEREAS, the policy further provides that emergency for sick leave purposes shall be defined, in part, as illness or death within the immediate family--husband, wife, children, mother, father, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, sister, grandparents, grandchildren (including step relations); now,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Concordia Parish School Board requests the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana to provide his opinion as to whether a noncertified school employee may use accumulated sick leave for an extended period of time without loss of pay because of the illness of a member of the immediate family; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana as the official request for his opinion of the question addressed in this document by Concordia Parish School Board, a body duly authorized by the State Legislature to establish, maintain, develop and operate an efficient public school program within Concordia Parish.

•••

Rev. Johnnie Brown arrived at 5:45 p.m.

It was moved by Mr. King, seconded by Mrs. Miley and carried to open bids for roofing of Ferriday Upper Elementary School. Superintendent Lee explained the process for holding bids at the Central Office until the time of the Board meeting. He introduced H. L. Irvin, Supervisor of Supportive Services, who explained the pre-bid conference and the reasons for it. During the process of opening bids, it was discovered that a bid from United Roofing and Construction Company did not display the company's Louisiana license number. Ms. Connie Thames, an agent from the Licensing Bureau, advised the Board that it would be illegal to open and read the bid. Three other bids were opened and read. They were as follows:

Brown Industries Base - $133,000

Alternate I - $47,600

Total - $180,600

Central Roofing Base - $149,875

Alternate I - $54,288

Total - $204,163

Rowell Roofing Base - $154,747

Alternate - $53,875

Total - $208,622

Following a lengthy discussion, it was moved by Mrs. Miley, seconded by Mr. Stampley and carried 8-1, with Mr. Partridge voting no, to allow the Board attorney, Norman Magee, to research the law and to call a special election to award the bids.

Superintendent Lee recommended a proposed calendar for the 1994-95 school year. It was moved by Rev. Brown, seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried 7-2, with Mr. Partridge and Mr. King voting no, to approve the following calendar for next school year:

S C H O O L C A L E N D A R

1 9 9 4 - 1 9 9 5

GRADING PERIODS

FIRST SEMESTER.................Wednesday, August 17, 1994 - Thursday, January 12, 1995

1st 6 Weeks.......................Wednesday, August 17, 1994 - Wednesday, September 28, 1994

2nd 6 Weeks......................Thursday,September 29, 1994 - Wednesday, November 9, 1994

3rd 6 Weeks.......................Thursday, November 10, 1994 - Thursday, January 12, 1995

SECOND SEMESTER..........................Friday, January 13, 1995 - Friday, May 26, 1995

4th 6 Weeks............................Friday, January 13, 1995 - Friday, February 24, 1995

5th 6 Weeks............................Wednesday, March 1, 1995 - Tuesday, April 11, 1995

6th 6 Weeks.............................Wednesday, April 12, 1995 - Friday, May 26, 1995

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

Labor Day ..............................................................................September 5, 1994

Employees' Conventions...................................................November 21, 22, 23, 1994

Thanksgiving Holidays..........................................................November 24, 25, 1994

Christmas Holidays ...............................December 19, 1994 - January 2, 1995, inclusive

Martin Luther King's Day..............................................................January 16, 1995

Mardi Gras .........................................................................February 27, 28, 1995

Easter................................................................................April 13, 14, 17, 1995

TESTING DATES

LEAP.........................................................................................April 3-7, 1995

California Achievement Test..........................................................April 24-28, 1995

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

One-half day per semester - Dates to be announced

Students Dismissed - 1:00 p.m......................................................August 18, 19, 1994

Teachers' Workdays (No school for students)...............August 17, 1994 & May 25, 1995

Parent Conference Days (No school for students)........October 7, 1994 & January 20, 1995

Preschool Round-up............................................................................May 6, 1995

Senior Exams...............................................................................May 9 - 12, 1995

Graduation....................................................................................May 18, 19, 1995

Cafeterias Close................................................................................May 19, 1995

Final Exams - Dismiss 11:00 a.m.................................................May 22, 23, 24, 1995

Report cards issued at 8:00 a.m...............................................................May 26, 1995

SCHOOL MONTHS

1st Month...............Wednesday, August 17, 1994 - Wednesday, September 14, 1994, inclusive

2nd Month...............Thursday, September 15, 1994 - Wednesday, October 12, 1994, inclusive

3rd Month................Thursday, October 13, 1994 - Wednesday, November 9, 1994, inclusive

4th Month.............Thursday, November 10, 1994 - Wednesday, December 14, 1994, inclusive

5th Month...................Thursday, December 15, 1995 - Friday, January 27, 1995, inclusive

6th Month.................... Monday, January 30, 1995 - Friday, February 24, 1995, inclusive

7th Month.....................Wednesday, March 1, 1995 - Tuesday, March 28, 1995, inclusive

8th Month........................Wednesday, March 29, 1995 - Friday, April 28, 1995, inclusive

9th Month..........................Monday, May 1, 1995 - Friday, May 26, 1995, inclusive

It was moved by Mr. Stampley, seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried to move an item up on the agenda to accommodate Sheriff Randy Maxwell's schedule. President Calhoun recognized Sheriff Maxwell, who presented a request to use the Ferriday High School gym for a recreation program on Friday and Saturday nights beginning on March 11, 1994. The Town of Ferriday will provide insurance and the Sheriff's office will provide security. It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried to approve the program.

Mr. Stampley requested that the Board discuss extended sick leave and develop a policy for support personnel. It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Mr. King and carried to have all Board members sent copies of current sick leave policy and to let the Board attorney recommend a policy for discussion.

Item IV.G., Board members' salaries, was postponed indefinitely.

Rev. Brown requested that school prayer be specifically allowed under school policy. Superintendent Lee commented that even though Board members all believe in prayer, he strongly recommended not changing the policy for the following reasons: All the schools have an opening ceremony and there have been no complaints from the public, indicating that the current policy is working. Mr. Magee advised that mandating prayer in policy will violate federal law, and he recommended that the current policy of allowing silent meditation be retained. Following lengthy discussion, it was moved by Rev. Brown and seconded by Mr. Partridge to change the wording of Policy IKD from "silent meditation" to "school prayer." Rev. Brown requested a roll call vote. The motion failed 7-2, with the votes being recorded as follows:

YEAS: Rev. Brown, Mr. Partridge

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

Mr. King later requested that his vote be changed, resulting in a 6-3 vote.

It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Rev. Brown and carried to sponsor someone to attend the Office of Drug Policy workshops offered in March, April, and May.

Rev. Brown discussed problems with parental involvement in the schools and suggested that the Board endorse a forum to generate interest in involving parents. Rev. Brown made a motion to ask principals to develop a list of suggestions to improve parental involvement in the schools and to present these suggestions to the Board. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried.

Rev. Brown discussed changes in JTPA policies and asked that the school system network with JTPA to place some of their workers in the system to develop a pool of trained, experienced people to draw from. Superintedent Lee informed the Board that the system already employs some JTPA workers.

Superintendent Lee recommended that the Board approve a lease proposal with the LaSalle Community Action on the Clayton School building for several reasons: 1) More space will be provided at the Ferriday Education Center for the Alternative School which will be expanded next year. 2) The Clayton School building will continue to be used to educate children, most of whom will become students in our system. 3) The lease will generate $990,000 over the 30 year lease period.

Superintendent Lee assured the Board that the cost to repair and improve the Clayton School building would not exceed $150,000. It was moved by Mr. Partridge, seconded by Rev. Brown and carried to approve the lease proposal, with the provision that should LaSalle Community Action have any difficulty with their funding, they will come back to the Board to work out any lease changes. The motion carried unanimously.

It was moved by Mrs. Miley, seconded by Mr. Nelson and carried to approve the resignation of Lindi Randall, SFS technician, VUE, effective February 8, 1994.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.

___________________________ _____________________________

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