March 3, 2005
THE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD OF VERNON PARISH LOUISIANA CONVENED IN REGULAR SESSION, MARCH 3, 2005 AT 10:00 A.M., AT 201 BELVIEW ROAD, LEESVILLE, LA. PRESIDENT HAYMON CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER AND ON ROLL CALL THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS WERE PRESENT:
M. GENE HAYMON, PRESIDENT
ROBERT PYNES, JR., VICE PRESIDENT
JAMES K. ARMES, III
MEL HARRIS
MARK H. SMITH
BETTY WESTERCHIL
RICKY REESE
WILLIS A FARRIS
W.R. ”r;RANDY” MARTIN
B.R. HARVEY
PHILIP L. GUNN
GAYE McKEE
M. GENE HAYMON
COL. A. WADE WOOLFREY
There was also present Dr. Cynthia Gillespie, Secretary of the Board.
The meeting was opened in prayer by Randy Martin.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by B.R. Harvey.
On motion of Gaye McKee, seconded by Willis Farris, the Board voted to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes of February 8, 2005.
On motion of Mark Smith, seconded by Ricky Reese, the Board voted to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes of the February 22, 2005 special called meeting.
Superintendent Gillespie and Ron DeGray, GATES administrator, recognized GATES graduate Reesa Sanford and presented her GED certificate. This brought the number of graduates who have received a GED through the GATES program to 60 and including those who have received skills certificates, the total is 80.
Superintendent Gillespie addressed the issue of prayer at the beginning of board meetings that some school systems are facing, some of which prayer at their board meetings has been banned by judges’decisions.
On motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by Mel Harris, the Board voted to continue to open board meetings with prayer and include that decision in a resolution.
Col. A. Wade Woolfrey, Fort Polk representative to the Board, addressed the ”r;Adopt a School Program” which is in place at Fort Polk. He provided handouts, which explained the purpose of the program and included unit sponsorship for the local schools.
On motion of Betty Westerchil, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following resolution in support of the partnership between the school system and Fort Polk.
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School System has for many years enjoyed a great relationship with Fort Polk; and
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board is very proud of our students from the Fort Polk community and their involvement in school activities; and
WHEREAS, these students have backgrounds which bring a global diversity to the student population within our schools; and
WHEREAS, we appreciate the support and contributions of the military community as we continue to pursue excellence for all students enrolled in our schools and feel very fortunate to be associated with Fort Polk and its family and consider them to be an enormous asset to our school system; and
WHEREAS, JRTC and Fort Polk has developed a school sponsorship program which should further provide support the partnership that exists between Fort Polk and the Vernon Parish School System; and
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Board adopts this resolution of appreciation to BG Michael Barbero, Col. A. Wade Woolfrey and the entire Fort Polk Community for their support and efforts to further enhance the partnership we continue to enjoy.
Don Gallemore, Technology Administrator, briefly discussed and handed out information showing savings to the school systems through E-rate discounts. Those are savings that will go directly back into the system.
On motion of Randy Martin, seconded by Ricky Reese, the Board voted to advertise for bids for the renovations and additions at Pickering Schools.
On motion of Gaye McKee, seconded by Philip Gunn, the Board voted to approve a change order for Rosepine School, totaling $5,261.54.
Mark Smith reported that the Personnel Committee, in its 8:00 a.m. meeting, had discussed the issue of allocating more teachers to the Gifted/Honors program.
On recommendation of the Personnel/Salary Committee and on motion of Mark Smith, seconded by Mel Harris, the Board voted to allocate up to 10 new teachers to the Gifted/Honors program starting at the beginning of the 2005-06 school year.
In other business, Ricky Reese discussed the continued search for an electrician at the Maintenance Department and announced that Kenneth Smart, a qualified electrician, had applied for the position.
On recommendation of the Maintenance Committee and on motion of B.R. Harvey, seconded by James Armes, the Board voted to place Mr. Smart on the list of new employees, which is scheduled to be brought to the Board for approval on Tuesday, March 8th.
Also in other business, Mel Harris announced that the Board had received a Certificate of Award for its efforts in promoting the recent Home front Celebration.
Superintendent Gillespie announced that Vernon Parish School System ranked third in the State on District Performance Scores for 2003-04 up from fifth the previous year. She praised the students, teachers, school administration and the central office staff for Vernon Parish Schools’ results on the state-wide testing.
On motion of Betty Westerchil, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following resolution celebrating the growth and acknowledging Superintendent Gillespie, the central office directors and supervisors, teachers and all others who worked together so the students of Vernon Parish could experience excellence.
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board is pleased that the test scores of our students continue to improve and that our parish’s 2003-04 scores placed Vernon Parish third in state; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Cindy Gillespie, Superintendent, possesses the dedication, leadership, expectations and expertise to direct Vernon Parish Schools to achieve the level of excellence our students are experiencing; and
WHEREAS, Mr. John Farris and Mrs. Anne Smith and the central office supervisory staff dedicate many hours to developing an instructional program that is aligned with our required tests, and to supplying materials and resources to assist teachers with meeting the needs of individual students, and to training personnel in testing procedures; and
WHEREAS, the schools’ administrators are to be commended for overseeing the operations of the schools and for the support, encouragement and assistance they provide for their students and teachers, and
WHEREAS, our teachers incorporate the information and materials made available to them into their lesson plans and utilize every opportunity afforded them to prepare their students for testing and the accomplishments realized by the 2003-04 scores are a direct result of great teaching; and
WHEREAS, the level of support and cooperation demonstrated by Vernon Parish parents is an important component in our team efforts to help our children and youth succeed; and
WHEREAS, our students continue to excel and work hard to reach high expectations set for them and certainly deserve to be congratulated and commended for the success of their endeavors; now
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Board adopts this resolution to commend the teamwork of the administration, teachers, support personnel, parents and students in accomplishing these results.
On motion of Betty Westerchil, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following memorial resolution:
WHEREAS, the members of the Vernon Parish School Board wish to express their sincere condolences to the family of Mrs. Irene Deacon, of Leesville, who recently passed away; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Deacon was the aunt of Ms. Barbara Dowden, retired educator, Ms. Larilyn Dowden, former school psychologist, and Karen and Lanny Larche, former Vernon Parish educators; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Deacon will be remembered for her dedicated services to her church community and she will be sadly missed by her family and her many friends; now
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Board requests a copy of this memorial resolution be sent to the family at this time of sorrow.
On motion of Betty Westerchil, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following memorial resolution:
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board takes this means to express its sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Tommie Warford, of Leesville, who recently passed away; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Warford, the husband of the late Mrs. Estes Warford, retired Vernon Parish educator, was extremely active in community and church organizations and activities, 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. Warford’s family at this time of bereavement.
On Motion of Willis Farris, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following memorial resolution:
WHEREAS, the members of the Vernon Parish School Board wish to express their heartfelt sympathies to the family of Kayla Odom, of Leesville, who recently passed away; and
WHEREAS, Kayla was the granddaughter of the late Mr. Jim Shankle, retired bus driver and the niece of Ms. Susie Shankle Lakey, former bus driver for Vernon Parish Schools; and
WHEREAS, Kayla was a lifelong resident of Leesville and a Leesville High School graduate and she will be sadly missed by her family and friends; now
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Board requests a copy of this memorial resolution be sent to Kayla’s family at this time of sorrow.
On motion of B.R. Harvey, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following memorial resolution:
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Everette Hill, of Pitkin, who recently passed away; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Hill was the father of Mrs. Judy Deters, cafeteria employee at South Polk Elementary School and the grandfather of Mrs. Jennifer Smith, bus driver at West Leesville Elementary School; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Hill was a lifelong and very active resident of Pitkin 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 Mrs. Deters and Mrs. Smith and their family at this time of sorrow.
There being no further business, on motion of Gaye McKee, seconded by the Board, the meeting was adjourned.
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M. GENE HAYMON, PRESIDENT
ATTEST:
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DR. CYNTHIA GILLESPIE, SUPERINTENDENT