PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1994.

The School Board of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana, met in committee at the Concordia Parish School Board Office, in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Tuesday, November 15, 1994, at five-thirty (5:30) o'clock p.m.  The meeting was called to order by the Honorable Walter Stampley, Vice-President, who declared that the Board, after prayer by Mr. Manson Nelson, and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, was ready for discussion of agenda items.

Members present were Mrs. Marie Cowan, Mr. Jerry King, Mrs. Polly Miley, Mr. Manson Nelson, Mr. Charles Partridge, and Mr. Walter Stampley.

Members absent:          Rev. Johnnie Brown, Mr. J. W. Calhoun, and Mrs. Georgia Washington.

Mr. Stampley read a letter from the family of Mrs. Evelyn Hall, expressing their thanks to the Board for the resolution in her memory approved at the last meeting.

Mr. Stampley declared by order of the Chair that the special recognition scheduled next would be moved to a later time because one of the teachers had not arrived.

Rev. Brown arrived at 5:35 p.m.

Mr. Stampley recognized Mr. Glen Daniels, County Agent for Concordia, who reported on the parish recycling program currently under development.  Mr. Daniels described projects the parish committee is planning and the kinds of vendors they are considering for the recycling process.  He also discussed the need to continue to educate students and to involve them in activities such as the recycling program through their 4-H clubs at the schools and stated that collection of recyclable materials could serve as 4-H club projects.  He recognized Board member Mrs. Marie Cowan for her participation on the parish committee.

Mr. Tom O'Neal presented the monthly financial report and answered questions.  Mr. King requested that an update on the Clayton School project be sent out to Board members.

Dr. Pete Peterman, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, explained the NASA project in which two Concordia teachers were involved.  Only four parishes in Louisiana were selected to have teachers participate in a project involving training at NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, during the summer with followup activities during the school year.  He recognized Ms. Michelle Bethea, science teacher at FJH, and Mr. Willie Barnes, science teacher at VHS, for being chosen to participate and presented them with a certificate and a picture of themselves with their NASA mentor.  Ms. Bethea and Mr. Barnes expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to participate and explained some of the training they received.

Dr. Peterman provided the Board a comprehensive curriculum update, including the professional development activities funded through several grants received during the past year.  The grants include:

LaSip "Finding New Limits"                                          $153,000

LaSIP "We Make Connections"                                    $146,000

U. S. Office of Education                                               $ 49,998

Single Parent/Single Pregnant Women                            $ 30,000

Dr. Peterman recognized Ms. Pat Washington, teacher at FHS, who wrote and will be directing the Single Parent/Single Pregnant Women.  Ms. Washington provided the Board an overview of the program which will be implemented during the second semester at FHS.

Dr. Peterman pointed out that the U. S. Office of Education grant is one of 15 funded in the nation.  Written by Ms. Leinda Peterman and Mrs. Beverly Weston, the grant will provide funding for Catahoula and Concordia Parishes to install equipment and provide teacher training on using the Internet for educational improvement in all curricular areas. Dr. Peterman reported that a $ 20,000 local planning subgrant has been submitted for funding by Louisiana 2000 to provide additional funds for teacher training in use of technology.  New technology will be coordinated with ongoing projects such as LaSIP and the 8(g) project currently underway at VJH. 

Joe Doughty, representing the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Program, reviewed his findings during an energy audit at FHS, MHS, and VHS last spring.  He distributed audit reports to the Board and discussed several methods for energy conservation.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m.

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