December 11, 2001
THE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD OF VERNON PARISH LOUISIANA CONVENED IN REGULAR SESSION, DECEMBER 11, 2001, AT, 5:00 P.M., AT 201 BELVIEW ROAD, LEESVILLE, LA. PRESIDENT HARVEY CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER AND ON ROLL CALL THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS WERE PRESENT:
B.R. HARVEY, PRESIDENT
KIM REESE, VICE PRESIDENT
ALVIN C. DOWDEN, JR.
WILLIS A. FARRIS
PHILIP L. GUNN
M. GENE HAYMON
JANE HOLTON
C.A. HUGHES
GAYE MCKEE
MURPHY O’BANION
TED PARIS
W.W. PARKER
MARK SMITH
LINDA WEST
BETTY WESTERCHIL
COL. THOMAS SITTNICK
There was also present Richard Schwartz, Secretary of the Board.
The meeting was opened in prayer by Philip Gunn.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Willis Farris.
On motion of Willis Farris, seconded by Philip Gunn, the Board voted to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes of December 6, 2001.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by W.W. Parker, the Board to approve the attached resignation.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Gaye McKee, seconded by Jane Holton, the Board voted to approve the attached sabbatical leave request.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of W.W. Parker, seconded by Philip Gunn, the Board voted to approve the attached request for a leave without pay.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Ted Paris, seconded by C.A. Hughes, the Board voted to approve the attached employee transfers.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion C. A. Hughes, seconded by Murphy O’Banion, the Board voted to approve the attached list of new employees.
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On motion of Murphy O’Banion, seconded by Willis Farris, the Board voted to approve the contract for Superintendent- elect Dr. Cindy Gillespie.
On motion of Gaye McKee, seconded by Murphy O’Banion, the Board voted to approve the Vernon Parish Head Start Policy Council members for 2001-02.
On motion of Willis Farris, seconded by Jane Holton, the Board voted to accept Compliance Services as our agent for substance abuse testing for CDL drivers.
On motion of Betty Westerchil, seconded by Kim Reese, the Board voted to approve board meeting dates for 2002.
On motion of Kim Reese, seconded by Mark Smith, the Board voted to approve District 1/6 Committee meeting dates for 2002.
On motion of Murphy O’Banion, seconded by Philip Gunn, the Board voted to elect board officers for 2002.
President Harvey opened the floor for nominations for the 2002 board president.
Nomination was made by Murphy O’Banion, seconded by Linda West to name Kim Reese as board president for 2002.
On motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by Betty Westerchil to close nominations and by unanimous vote, the Board elected Kim Reese to serve as the 2002 board president.
President Harvey at this time, opened the floor for nominations for the 2002 vice-president.
Nomination was made by Gaye McKee, seconded by W.W. Parker, to name Willis Farris as vice-president for 2002.
On motion of Murphy O’Banion, seconded by Mark Smith, the Board voted to close nominations and by unanimous vote, the Board voted to elect Willis Farris to serve as the 2002 board vice-president.
Superintendent Schwartz recognized out-going board president, B.R. Harvey and presented him with a plaque of appreciation for his dedicated service while serving as the 2001 president of the board.
Col. Thomas Sittnick made a presentation to Superintendent Schwartz commending him upon his retirement for his cooperation with the military community and his commitment to the education of all students enrolled in Vernon Parish Schools.
On motion of W.W. Parker, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following memorial resolution:
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the members of the Vernon Parish School Board wish to express their heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Nelson Guillory, of Lake Charles, who recently passed away; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Guillory was the nephew-in-law of Board Member and Mrs. B.R. Harvey, and the uncle of Mrs. Diedra Farris, former Vernon Parish teacher and he will be sadly missed by his family and friends; now
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Board requests a copy of this memorial resolution be sent to Mr. Guillory’s family at this time of sorrow.
Col. Sittnick informed the Board that he will in the very near future meet with the Governor’s Military Advisory Board and will introduce some initiatives regarding the TOPS program. He will offer a proposal which would eliminate or reduce the two year residency requirement for participation in the program.
On motion of W.W. Parker, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following resolution:
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board welcomes the opportunity to serve the dependents of the service men and women stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana; and,
WHEREAS, this Board has the responsibility of providing the best possible educational opportunities and for preparing and equipping all students, civilian and military, who are enrolled in our schools, with the background needed for entering a program of higher education; and,
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Tuition Opportunity Program for Students makes a college education financially possible for many of our high achieving students; and,
WHEREAS, the two year residency requirement which has been written into the policy regulating eligibility for participation in TOPS, would almost eliminate the possibility of our military students being allowed to take advantage of the program; thereby placing them at an unfair disadvantage; now
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Vernon Parish School Board adopts this resolution requesting our legislators to consider removing the two year residency requirement for TOPS, thus allowing more students the opportunity to take advantage of the program.
On motion of W.W. Parker, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following resolution:
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board emphasizes the importance of keeping the public informed of the policies and decisions it makes in the interest of the families and employees of our school system; and
WHEREAS, representatives of our local news media are always prompt in attendance, attentive to details, and do a superb job of fair and accurate reporting of school board meetings; now
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the members of the Board wish to take this means to express their appreciation to Mr. Ben Barkley and his staff at the Leesville Daily Leader, Mr. Mel Harris, at KJAE Radio, and Mr. Shawn Martin at the Lake Charles American Press for their dedicated service to this Board and our school system.
On motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by W.W. Parker, the Board voted to authorize the president and secretary to pay the claims.
There being no further business, on motion of Gaye McKee, seconded by the Board voted to adjourn.
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B.R. HARVEY
ATTEST:
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RICHARD SCHWARTZ, SUPERINTENDENT
December 11, 2001