PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF CONCORDIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1999.

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, January 5, 1999.  At five-thirty (5:30) o'clock p.m.  The meeting was called to order by the Honorable Ernest Lynn White, President, who declared that the Board, after prayer by Rev. Robert Lee, Jr., and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, was ready for the transaction of business.

Members present were the Honorable Ernest Lynn White, Rev. Johnnie Brown, Mrs. Mary Campbell, Mr. Eddie Coleman, Mr. Darrell Crofford, Mr. Mike Grantham, Mr. Don Joseph, Mrs. Martha Rabb, and Mr. Ricky Raven.

Mr. Magee, Board Attorney, administered the Oath of Office to the Board Members.

Mr. White declared the floor open for nominations of president for 1999.

Mr. Joseph nominated Mr. Mike Grantham.  Mr. Coleman nominated Rev. Johnnie Brown.

Mr. White asked for a show of hands in favor of Mr. Grantham.  Those in favor were Mr. Crofford, Mr. Grantham, Mr. Joseph, Mrs. Rabb, Mr. Raven, and Mr. White.  Mr. Grantham took the president's seat.

Mr. Grantham opened the floor for nominations for vice-president.  Mr. Coleman nominated Rev. Johnnie Brown.  Mr. Crofford nominated Mr. Ricky Raven.  Mr. Grantham asked for those in favor of Mr. Raven.  Those in favor were Mr. Crofford, Mr. Joseph, Mrs. Rabb, Mr. Raven, Mr. White and Mr. Grantham.  Mr. Grantham congratulated Mr. Raven.

Mr. Grantham made the following committee assignments:

Finance Committee:                  Darrell Crofford, Mike Grantham, Donald Joseph

Personnel Committee:               Mary Campbell, Martha Rabb, Ricky Raven

Building & Grounds Committee:            Johnnie Brown, Eddie Coleman, Lynn White

Rev. Brown asked if he could exchange positions with another committee member.  Mr. Grantham stated he had no problem with this if it was agreeable with both members.

Dr. Peterman, Assistant Superintendent recognized the Sidney A. Murray Citizenship Award winners for January.  There were:

Ridgecrest Elementary  6^th grade           Monica Gorham

Vidalia Junior High       6^th grade           Chelsey Knapp

Ferriday Junior High     6^th grade           Dominique Birdon

Monterey High             6^th grade           Paul Orr

Dr. Peterman introduced Mrs. Barbara Crum, Vidalia High School DECA teacher.  Mrs. Crum gave a brief explanation of the Louisiana Business Partnership Program.  Mrs. Crum introduced three of the students participating in the program. They were Ann Davidson, Sarah Mayfield, and Justin Barlow.  Each of the students gave a brief presentation on the benefits they have seen as a result of their participation in the Partnership.

Superintendent Lee announced that each year in January the Board celebrates "Family Night at the Board."  He commented on the importance of the family and specifically noted the importance of the support their families provide Board members as they carry out their duties and responsibilities.  The Superintendent and each Board member introduced his or her family members who were present and pictures were made.

Mrs. Dangerfield, Assistant Director of Business Affairs, presented invoices and the Financial Report for January.   It was moved by Mrs. Campbell, seconded by Mr. Joseph and carried to approve invoices in the amount of $2,065,186.00.

Mr. Fred Marsalis, Vidalia Junior High School Principal, announced that Vidalia Junior High School had received a check in the amount of $1,500 from Alcoa.  This money was donated to the school for the purchase of calculators ($1,000) and work on a practice football field ($500).

Superintendent Lee presented his annual message to the Board.

PREFACE

January is typically a time for reflection, a time when we look back on the year past and when we look forward to what we hope to accomplish in the new year.  This year's annual message will be broader in scope than last year's since 1999 is the beginning of a new Board term.  I think we must look back over the past several years for the new Board member to gain a better appreciation for what we have achieved and yet look ahead into and beyond 1999 with a clear vision of what we must provide for our students in the new millennium.

Parents and business partners continue to play an important role in every aspect of our educational program.  We will continue to promote our slogan, "Education is Everybody's Business" and to emphasize the importance of community involvement in the total school program.  Parents are the key to improved student performance in the classroom.  As we stress student accountability for learning, we will persist in our efforts to bring parents into a full partnership with us.  For your convenience, I am again this year providing a separate report containing the facts and figures which support this annual message and give other noteworthy information about our schools.

ACADEMICS

School Uniforms

Research has shown that school systems which require school uniforms for students also experience academic improvement.  In 1997 the Board took a leadership role in having a Louisiana law changed to allow local school boards the option of requiring uniforms.  Pursuant to this change, uniforms were required for all students attending Concordia Parish Public Schools at the beginning of the 1998-99 school year.  The wearing of uniforms by our students received tremendous support from parents, and we are receiving some encouraging reports on the positive impact the uniforms have made in the school setting.  Even though the Board does not mandate the wearing of uniforms for its employees, some central office administrators and employees, as well as some school administrators and teachers, are voluntarily wearing uniforms to show their support for this policy and to promote team spirit.

Student Achievement

Improved student outcomes were indicated by an increase in ACT scores last year, after suffering a loss from the previous year.  In 1998, ACT scores increased from 17.5 to 17.9 for all students.  Students pursuing a full load of core academic courses increased their scores from 19.1 to 19.7.  As you may already know, we have set a very ambitious goal of reaching 19.0 for all students and 20 for students taking the core subjects by the end of 2000.

Academic Action Plan

Instructional directors, supervisors, principals and teachers are currently developing strategies to improve our student test scores in all academic areas.  We are in the process of creating a systemwide framework which will provide assistance and support as principals and teachers face new state requirements for accountability for students' academic progress.  Teacher committees which have been focusing on state and local content standards and the scope and sequence of the elementary curriculum are providing input in helping us develop an action plan to improve the academic achievement of our students.  Our efforts must be intensive enough to reach our goal of 19.0 for all students on ACT scores by the end of 2000.

Grants

The administrative team, along with teachers and principals, have aggressively pursued grant monies to assist in providing professional development, equipment, materials and supplies for our teachers and students.  Through these grants, we have continued to focus on the basics of instruction to give our students a solid foundation, while providing well-equipped, modern classrooms to enhance the teaching and learning process.

During 1998 alone, Concordia Parish received in excess of $2.0 million in grants.  One grant focuses on K-3 reading and math and provides funding for professional development activities and instructional materials and supplies.  Another grant, funded by RSI/LaSIP, provides training for science teachers of grades 5-8 in effective instruction strategies and  funds the purchase of materials that will provide students with challenging, thought-provoking science instruction.

All of these initiatives require the involvement of teachers and principals, in addition to the administrative team members who facilitate the grant process by seeing that materials and equipment are ordered, that state or federal reports are filed in a timely manner and that the budgetary guidelines are adhered to. Through these collaborative efforts, we have been able to take advantage of the opportunities offered our system through block and competitive grant programs.

Alternative School

The alternative school was reorganized last year to better accommodate our junior and high school students who do not benefit from traditional instruction in the regular school setting.  We hope to continue to increase the capacity of this program each year even though it is costly in comparison to the regular education program.  The alternative school costs in excess of $100,000 per year to operate with little support from the state.  Because of the high cost of providing alternative schools, most other parishes requested and received state waivers.  We chose not to seek a waiver, but to provide these services for our 6-12 graders.  Even though the alternative school is limited without state support, we are committed to provide all of our students with the kind of instruction which we feel is the most beneficial for them.

GOALS

We have reached almost all the goals we set for the school system in 1992.  We are now seeking and receiving input from you and others to set additional goals that are worthy and attainable for the 21^st century.  These goals must reflect all of our ideas and aspirations and must be student driven.  Once our goals have set, we will write an Action Plan to take our school system into the next century.

MAINTENANCE AND TRANSPORTATION

Our maintenance department continues to improve its efforts toward addressing the needs of our ageing facilities and equipment.  The number of regularly scheduled maintenance rotations assigned to each school was doubled last year so that each site received an additional rotation.  The roofing crew was made a permanent part of our maintenance crew last fall.  This allows us to continue to address roof leaks on a weekly basis.  We also completed the painting of all schools last summer.

New kitchen exhaust systems in the preparation areas of nine schools have been completed.  The two remaining schools, Ferriday Kindergarten Center and Ridgecrest School are scheduled to be completed this year.

The transportation department continues to provide staff development activities to focus on safety and on meeting federal and state mandates.  A number of contract drivers have purchased newer, more reliable buses, with additional safety features.

SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE

The School Food Service Program continues to hold the line on finances, to provide a choice of entrees on the serving line, and to provide salad bars and take out lunches.  We also formed a consortium with other parishes in our area in an effort to enhance our purchasing in a cost effective manner.  Our charges for students have not increased since 1993.

FINANCES

Financially, our system is again on solid ground and debt free.  We have reached this goal through hard work and an attitude of team spirit on the part of all our administrators, support for our efforts by the board, as well as through the insight and capabilities of our business management team.  One important accomplishment  worthy of mentioning is that in 1992 we borrowed $750,000 amortized for ten (10) years. In 1996, we were able to pay off this debt through an accelerated payment schedule developed by our business department.  This saved us approximately $126,000 in interest.

We must continue to emphasize the valuable resource of the second one-cent sales tax approved by the public in 1993 and due to expire in 2000.  The renewal of this tax must be a top priority for us this year. With this tax, we have been able
 

1. • to substantially enhance our classrooms, with new technology, new textbooks, new teacher and student desks, and additional instructional materials and supplies;

   • to improve our buildings and grounds;

   • to provide salary adjustments for our teachers and support staffs;

   •  to increase the sales tax supplement for all employees;

   •  to restore our retirees' health insurance benefits to the 1992 level;

   •  and to issue a 13^th check on the second Friday in January.  The 13^th check, which was first distributed in January 1996, has been approved by the Board through 2000.  This Friday's check will constitute the fourth consecutive year of distribution at a cost of $215,000 in salary and benefits for our employees.
      

In addition, the 1993 sales tax has enabled us to provide

1. • five (5) automatic, diesel-powered activity buses,

   • an automatic, diesel-powered handicapped bus,                       

   • two driver's education cars,

   • a special education van,

   • Four (4) new maintenance trucks and two (2) vans,

   • a new company car

   •  new stadium lights at FHS and VHS,

   •  new visitors' restrooms at the VHS stadium,

   •  increased funding for the VHS and FHS band programs,

   • a three-man roofing crew to address leaks as they occur,

   • additional public parking at the Central Office

   •  additional handicapped access and covered walkways at VLES, MHS, and FHS
                         

FACILITIES

As you know, we suffered a tremendous loss at the hands of arsonists who burned down Ferriday Junior High School.  We were fortunate to have enough classroom space at Ferriday Upper Elementary to accommodate the students.  However, for the past two school years, these students were provided only minimum services by not having access to a gymnasium for physical education and extracurricular activities, a fully operational library, science and computer laboratories, and a home economics department.  Presently, the school is under construction by Wilmar Construction Company of Vidalia.  The school building is scheduled to be completed and ready for occupancy before the beginning of the1999-2000 school year.  This will allow our eighth graders at FJH to have one year of a complete Junior High program which they were not able to experience as a 6^th and 7^th grader.

Last year, in coordination with Citizens United for Better education (CUBE), we surveyed our facilities to determine some short and long-range goals for buildings and grounds.  We found that buildings in each community need modernizing with energy-saving features.  In addition, I am in favor of setting a long-range goal of establishing an early childhood center in Vidalia.  In Monterey, we need to establish a Parent Center,  as well as to provide additional space for the business and home economics departments.  We will continue the active role CUBE is playing in developing our goals and capital outlay plans.

We must keep in mind that the Central Office complex is an integral part of our school system.  We currently lack modern energy saving and technology features that are required in today's technology age.  In addition, we must address the requirements for handicap access just as we have done at our school sites.  With the current focus on staff development, space for meetings and workshops continues to be a critical need.

To improve public access to school board meetings, we need adequate space with a sound system and audiovisual capabilities, as well.  As I have indicated in the last three annual messages, there is not longer any reason for the largest employer in the parish to do without necessary and appropriate meeting facilities.

CONTINUING GOALS

Our ongoing efforts include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. • to continue the emphasis on staff development in order to improve student achievement at all grade levels;

   • to provide every classroom with five computers and appropriate software and Internet access by the end of 2000;

   •  to complete the installation of modern science labs at each of our junior and senior high schools;

   •  to provide additional supervision and assistance for teachers who need it.

   • to bring parents into full partnership with their children's education;

   •  to install two-way communication systems in all our classrooms;

   •  to update electrical capabilities at our schools to accommodate instructional technology;

   •  to purchase an additional drivers' education car, which will satisfy our need in this area;

   • to rebuild the Insurance Reserve Fund to $500,000 by June 1999;

   • to increase salary and benefits to all employees as funds become available;

   • to update all parking lots at school sites with adequate lighting;

   • to eliminate potholes which create unsafe conditions for our students, parents, faculty and staff entering and leaving our school driveways;

   • to replace panic devices and door closures on all exit doors at schools where these are not already in place;

   • to provide additional recreational equipment at our elementary schools

CONCLUSION

1998 was a good year for public education in Concordia Parish.  Working together as a team and focusing on what is best for children, we can make 1999 even better.  We face many challenges in a time when public education is under attack, but let us not be afraid to forge ahead.  For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.  Let us use the talents He has given to make a brighter future for our children, our nation, and, ultimately, the world.

Superintendent Lee presented the proposed dates for 1999 Board Meetings.  It was moved by Mr. White, seconded by Mr. Joseph and approved to set the dates as proposed.  The dates for 1999 Board Meetings are as follows:

Tuesday, January 5, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, February 2, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, March 2, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, April 6, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, June 1, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, July 20, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, August 3, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - Public Hearing for FY2000 Budget and Special Meeting

Tuesday, September 14, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, October 5, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, November 2, 1999 - Regular Meeting

Tuesday, December 7, 1999 - Regular Meeting

It was moved by Mr. White, seconded by Mr. Joseph and carried 8-1 , with Rev. Brown voting no, to continue compensation for the Board members at the current level.

Superintendent Lee presented information to the Board concerning the advertisement for bids toward the purchase of a new Title I van.  He explained that the current van is becoming too costly to operate.  He also explained the necessity of the vehicle in that the van is used to deliver materials and supplies to and from the parish schools.  It was moved by Mr. Coleman, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to approve the advertisement for bids for the Title I Van.

Mr. Kenneth Mann was recognized by the Board.  Mr. Mann addressed the Board concerning out-of-zone students.  He was concerned with the number of out-of-zone students still attending schools in Concordia Parish.  Superintendent Lee explained the process the Board follows to check out-of-state students.  He informed Mr. Mann that the Board needs names in order to check the validity of the claims.  Superintendent Lee also cautioned everyone present not to discuss students or call names during the open meeting.  Mr. Mann asked about the possibility of working something out with the State of Mississippi.  Mr. Norman Magee, School Board Attorney,  noted there was the Federal Court to be considered.  Mr. Mann was informed that this would be studied.

It was moved by Mr. Coleman, seconded by Mrs. Campbell and carried 8-0, with Mrs. Rabb abstaining, to approve the resignation of Mrs. Martha Rabb, teacher FLES, effective January 1, 1999.

It was moved by Mrs. Campbell, seconded by Mr. Crofford and carried unanimously, to approve the resignation of Rebecca Herndon, Teacher, VHS, effective January 1, 1999.

It was moved by Mr. Coleman, seconded by Mr. Raven and carried unanimously to approve the extended sick leave as follows:

Juanice Holstead, Teacher FLES, effective December 28, 1998

Lynda Prince, Teacher Assistant FHS, effective November 30, 1998 through March 1, 1999.

Superintendent Lee informed the Board the Audit report had been received and the report showed no exceptions.  The Board was informed Mr. O'Neal, Director of Business Affairs, would give a detailed report during the Board training session on Thursday, January 7, 1999.  Superintendent Lee complimented the business department staff on a job well done.

Mr. Crofford inquired as to who performed the audit and why legislative auditors were not used.

Superintendent Lee informed Mr. Crofford that the audit was performed by an independent auditing agency, Vernon Coon and Associates.  He was also informed that legislative auditors were not available for school system audits.

It was moved by Mr. White, seconded by Mr. Joseph and carried unanimously to adjourn at 6:40 p.m.

__________________________________                ____________________________________

James E. Lee, Superintendent                                       Mike Grantham, President