SEPTEMBER 8, 2015                                       

DRAFT

THE VERNON PARISH SCHOOL BOARD CONVENED IN REGULAR SESSION AT 5:00P.M., 201 BELVIEW ROAD, LEESVILLE, LOUISIANA.  PRESIDENT BRANDON CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER AND ON ROLL CALL THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS WERE PRESENT:

DOUG BRANDON, PRESIDENT

DAVID DETZ, VICE-PRESIDENT

MICHAEL PERKINS

VERNON L. TRAVIS JR.

JIM SEAMAN

ROBERT PYNES JR.                                        

ANGIE DAVIS

JOHN BLANKENBAKER

RANDY MARTIN

STEVE WOODS

MICHAEL PERKINS

GERALD COOLEY

ABSENT:  COL. ATHEY

There was also present Mr. James Williams, Secretary of the Board.

The meeting was opened in prayer by Vernon Travis.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Vernon Travis.

On motion of John Blankenbaker, seconded by David Detz, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the September 3, 2015 regular meeting and dispense with the reading of the minutes.

Kem Johnson and Chad Hagan presented the annual 4-H Report.  Certificates were presented to 4-H members for their accomplishments and they were congratulated by the Board for their dedication and hard work.  Mrs. Johnson provided information on various 4-H projects and stated that Vernon Parish had the highest membership in the state.

September 3, 2015

Vernon Parish School Board

201 Belview Road

Leesville, LA  71446

Re:  Executive Summary for the 2015-2016 Operating Budget

Dear Board Members:

The budget for the Vernon Parish School Board for the fiscal year July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 is hereby submitted.

The board will be asked to approve the 2015-2016 Operating Budget on September 8, 2015.  The proposed resolution follows.

Before the resolution is acted upon, The Board will receive comments and recommendations from the Finance Committee and the public.  The Finance Committee will review the budget on September 3rd and a Public Hearing will be held at that time.

Budget Summary

The Vernon Parish School Board is the second largest employer in the parish.  Total budget revenues are $117.4 million and total budgeted expenditures are $116.9 million.

The purpose of each fund and an overview of the changes from last year are:

General Fund

General fund educational activities are accounted for in the General Fund and are supported by local taxes, state entitlements, and federal grants.

Special Revenue Fund

The Special Revenue Fund accounts for the proceeds of specific revenue sources that are legally restricted to the expenditures for specific purposes.

Debt Service Fund

The Debt Service Fund is used to accumulate monies for the payment of outstanding bond issues.

Debt service funds are not required to be included in this budget plan.

Capitol Projects Fund

The Capitol Projects Fund accounts for financial resources to acquire, construct, and improve public school facilities in nine (9) school districts.

Capitol project funds are not required to be included in this budget plan.

Budget Guidance

In developing the budget for FY 2015-2016, the administrative staff was given the following short term and financial operational policies:

1.     Salary estimates include “step increases”

2.     Half of any MFP increase budgeted as teacher salaries.

3.     To prepare estimates based on a student population of 8670.

4.     To use employer contribution rates of 26.3% for Teachers Retirement System and 30.2% for Louisiana School Employees Retirement

5.     To use the indirect cost rate of 6.9518 %

6.     To budget an increase retirement and insurance costs of $1 million.

7.   To budget for decreased student enrollment and possible decrease in personnel.

Budget Concerns

The uncertainty of Department of Defense Funding and Impact Aid Funding make the goal of using these funds only for non-recurring expenses imperative.

The student count has been a major area of concern. From 2010-2014 we had net decrease in student count of 257 students. In 2012-2013 we had one of largest losses of students in recent years, 406 students. In 2014-2015 there was a loss of an additional 339 students.

Another area of concern is the loss of state funding for a number of programs such as summer school and tutoring. We have had to look to other sources to replace these funds. Also federal grant money has decreased in recent years as a result of reduced funding and lower student count.

Acknowledgements

The preparation of this report could not have been accomplished without the efficient and dedicated services of the entire staff of the Business Department.  We want to express our appreciation to them for this assistance.

We also thank the members of the Board for their interest and support in planning and conducting the financial operations of the School System in a responsible and progressive manner.

_____________________________                               _____________________

James Williams, Superintendent                                                  Tim Ward.

Vernon Parish Schools                                                         Director of Finance

BUDGET RESOLUTION

The following resolution was offered by Vernon Travis and seconded by John Blankenbaker.

A resolution adopting, finalizing, and implementing the General Fund, Special Revenue, and Consolidated Fund Budgets of the Vernon Parish School Board for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016, which was accompanied by this budget adoption resolution; and

WHEREAS, the proposed Consolidated, General Fund, and the Special Revenue Fund Budgets and the accompanying budget adoption resolution have been submitted to this School Board for review and consideration; and

WHEREAS, notice of the public hearing on the proposed Consolidated, General Fund, and Special Revenue Fund Budgets, notice of the availability of the proposed budgets for review at such hearing and a general summary of the proposed budgets have been timely published in the Leesville Daily Leader; and

WHEREAS, a public hearing on the proposed Consolidated, General Fund, and Special Revenue Fund Budgets has now been reviewed and considered; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board that the proposed Consolidated, General Fund, and Special Revenue Budgets are hereby approved, adopted, and finalized.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED actual revenues, expenditures and fund balances for the year ended June 30, 2015 are hereby adopted as the amended budgets for the year, in compliance with the requirements of the state law.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary-Treasurer of the School Board, James Williams, or his successor, is hereby authorized and in her sole discretion, to make such changes within the various budget classifications as she may deem necessary provided that any reallocation of funds affecting in excess of five percent (5%) of the projected revenue collections must be approved in advance by action of the School Board at a meeting duly noticed and convened.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of the School Board, James Williams, or his successor, in her capacity as chief administrative officer of the School Board, is hereby directed to advise the School Board when:

1. Revenue collections plus projected revenue collections for the remainder of the year, within a fund, are failing to meet estimated annual budgeted revenues by five percent (5%) or more, or

2. Actual expenditures plus projected expenditures for the remainder of the year, within a fund, are exceeding the estimated budgeted expenditures by five percent (5%) or more, or

3. The actual beginning fund balance, with a fund, fails to meet the estimated beginning fund balance of five percent (5%) or more, and the fund balance is being used to fund current year expenditures.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary-Treasurer of the School Board, James Williams, or his successor, shall certify completion of all actions required by Louisiana R.S. 39:1306 by publishing a notice of the minutes of the meeting in the Leesville Daily Leader.

This Resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:

YEAS:  12                    

NAYS:   0

ABSTAINING:  0                      

ABSENT:   0

On motion of Angie Davis, seconded by David Detz, the Board voted to approve the contract for the principal at Anacoco High School.

On motion of Gerald Cooley, seconded by Randy Martin, the Board voted to adopt the Test Security Policy.

TEST SECURITY

The Vernon Parish School Board shall take every precaution to assure that all tests administered within the school system shall be conducted in such a manner so as not to compromise in any way the testing results.  For criterion-referenced, norm-referenced, alternate assessments and certain other tests administered by or through the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) including End of Course Testing (EOCT), and Academic Skills Assessments (ASA), testing materials and procedures, as well as any electronic data, computer media, or passwords related to student testing, shall be properly supervised in strict compliance with regulations outlined by BESE and the School Board.  In addition, all secure tests and test documents shall be stored under lock and key in designated areas when not in use.

Any teacher or other school personnel who allows or breaches test security, including unauthorized access to electronic data, shall be disciplined in accordance with statutory provisions, policy and regulations adopted by BESE and the School Board, and any and all laws that may be enacted by the state.

Employees shall be responsible for reporting irregularities or improprieties in the administration of standardized tests.  Although procedures for reporting irregularities to district personnel are listed below, employees may report such information directly to the Louisiana Department of Education, which shall investigate the allegations.  No employee shall make a report of irregularities or improprieties in the administration of standardized tests knowing that the information included is false.  No employee shall knowingly obstruct the procedures for receiving and investigating a report of irregularities or improprieties in the administration of standardized tests. 

No public school administrator or member of a School Board shall retaliate against an employee who in good faith participates in an investigation of testing administration improprieties or irregularities. Retaliation shall include discharging, demoting, suspending, threatening, harassing, or discriminating of an employee who in good faith reports testing administration improprieties or irregularities.

CELLULAR TELEPHONES

All cell phones or other similar technological devices with imaging or text-messaging capabilities that are the property of students, test administrators, and school test coordinators must be placed in and remain in the off position and stored in a secure area as designated and supervised by a school administrator during test administration or any other time that test booklets and answer documents are present. 

VIOLATIONS OF TEST SECURITY

It shall be a violation of test security for any person to do any of the following:

            1.         Administer tests in a manner that is inconsistent with the administrative instructions provided by the Louisiana Department of Education and the School Board that would give examinees an unfair advantage or disadvantage;

            2.         Give examinees access to test questions prior to testing;

            3.         Examine any test item at any time (except for students during the test or test administrators while providing the accommodations Tests Read Aloud or Communication Assistance, Transferred Answers, or Answers Recorded for students determined to be eligible for those accommodations);

            4.         At any time, copy, reproduce, record, store electronically, discuss, or use in a manner inconsistent with test regulations all or part of any secure test booklet, answer document, or supplementary secure materials;

            5.         Coach examinees in any manner during testing or alter or interfere with examinees' responses in any manner;

            6.         Provide answers to students in any manner during the test, including provision of cues, clues, hints, and/or actual answers in any form -- written, printed, verbal or nonverbal;

            7.         Administer published parallel, previously administered, or current forms of any statewide assessment as a practice test or study guide;

            8.         Fail to follow security regulations for distribution and return of secure test booklets, answer documents, supplementary secure materials, as well as overages as directed; or fail to account for and secure test materials before, during, or after testing;

            9.         Conduct testing in environments that differ from the usual classroom environment without prior written permission from the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Assessments and Accountability;

         10.           Fail to report any testing irregularities to the District Test Coordinator (a testing irregularity is any incident in test handling or administration that leads to a question regarding the security of the test or the accuracy of the test data), who must report such incidents to the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Assessments and Accountability; all secure materials must be kept in locked storage at both the district and school levels; secure materials must never be left in open areas or unattended.

         11.           Participate in, direct, aid, counsel, assist in, encourage, or fail to report any of the acts prohibited in this section.

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE

A Statement of Assurance regarding the Board's test security policy shall be submitted annually to the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Assessments and Accountability. This statement shall include the name of the individual designated by the Superintendent to procure test materials.

A Statement of Assurance regarding the School Board’s End of Course (EOC) emergency plan shall also be submitted annually to the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Assessmentsand Accountability.  The emergency plan shall provide the necessary steps to be followed in the event of an emergency that results in the disruption of online testing.

PROCEDURES FOR TEST SECURITY

Test materials, including all test booklets, answer documents, supplementary secure materials containing secure test questions, video tapes, and completed observation sheets, shall be kept secure and accounted for in accordance with the procedure specified in the test administration manuals and other communications provided by the Louisiana Department of Education. 

Secure test materials are those materials that contain test items or student responses and to which access is restricted.  Secure test materials include, student test booklets, student answer documents, any supplementary secure materials, and any other materials that contain test items or student responses.

Procedures for the security of test materials will include:

            1.         The District Test Coordinator will provide for and assure the security of all test materials prior to distribution to the schools and upon return of test materials from the schools. 

                        All test materials, except district and school test coordinator manuals and test administration manuals, test booklets, answer documents, and supplementary secure materials shall be kept in a designated, locked secure storage area prior to, during, and after administration of any test; all secure materials, including any parallel forms of a test, shall be kept in locked storage at both the district and school levels; secure materials must never be left in open areas or unattended; test administrators are to be given access to the tests and any supplementary secure materials only on the day the test is to be administered, and these are to be retrieved immediately after testing is completed for the day and stored in a designated, locked, secure, storage area each day of testing.

                        All materials will be kept locked in storage and secured at all times until distribution to school test coordinators.  Any access to the storage area while tests are secured at the district level will be made through the District Test Coordinator or designated support staff, who must accompany anyone needing access to the area and remain until the area can be secured. A record of who entered the area, the date, time and duration, and purpose will be maintained. 

                        Before receipt of the test materials, the school test coordinator and building level principal shall provide to the District Test Coordinator verification that a locked and secured storage area has been designated for test materials.  Test materials must be delivered to the school by the school test coordinator and/or principal and immediately be placed in locked storage.  The school test coordinator and the building level principal will provide for and assure the security of all test materials prior to, during, and after test administration.  They shall also monitor the return of all materials at the end of each testing session and shall document in writing along with each test administrator, the distribution of and return of all test materials checked out.  Except during testing sessions, all materials will be kept in locked storage. No one but the principal and school test administrator shall have access to the secured area for any reason. 

2.         Only the principal, school test coordinator, school coordinator and/or assistant principal will be allowed to handle secured test materials prior to and/or during distribution and return of materials.  Handling of materials is limited to organizing materials for distribution and specifically does not include reviewing tests or analyzing test items.

            3.         A list of the names of individuals at the school who will have access to the test materials before and after testing shall be submitted by the school test coordinator to the District Test Coordinator at the time testing materials are received.  All individuals who have access to test materials and student test data and/or administer tests must receive professional development on test security and test administration.  Only personnel trained in test security and administration shall be allowed to have access to or administer any statewide assessments.  Access to secure test materials by school personnel shall mean physically handling the materials, but does not include reading, reviewing, or analyzing test items, either before or after testing, which are prohibited.

4.         The Superintendent shall designate annually one individual in the district as District Test Coordinator, and, if necessary, one individual as Backup District Test Coordinator, who shall be authorized to procure test materials which are utilized in testing programs administered by or through BESE or the Louisiana Department of Education.  The name of the individuals so designated shall be provided in writing to the Division of Assessments and Accountability, Louisiana Department of Education, and included on the Statement of Assurance.

            If during the academic year the person appointed as District Test Coordinator changes, the Superintendent shall notify the LDE, Division of Assessments and Accountability in writing within fifteen (15) days of the change of appointment.

                        The District Test Coordinator will provide annually professional development for school test coordinators and principals to include all aspects of this policy and all test regulations and procedures presented in the district coordinator's, school test coordinator's and test administrators' manuals and shall maintain documentation of attendance on file for one calendar year.  The building level principal and/or school test coordinator will provide professional development as outlined above for all other individuals authorized to handle secure test materials. 

5.         The school test coordinator will provide professional development to all test administrators on both test security and test administration as outlined in this policy and in the school test coordinator's and test administrators' manuals.  Documentation of the participation of all test administrators in professional development shall be maintained for one calendar year.  All test administrators are required to attend professional development sessions related to testing.

6.         All persons involved in the administration of tests or that have access to test materials or student test data shall annually receive proper training and development for handling and securing all testing materials, as well as proper security maintenance, access to electronic data and confidentiality requirements.  A record of such activities shall be maintained by the Board.  Such activities shall be coordinated and supervised by the District Test Coordinator.  School testing coordinators shall in turn inservice all school level personnel having access to testing materials on security, administration, and confidentiality of individual or aggregated student test data. 

7.         All test administrators and proctors shall be required to sign the Oath of Security and return it to the School Test Coordinator to keep on file for three (3) years.  The School Test Coordinator and principal shall be required to sign an Oath of Security and return it to the District Test Coordinator to be kept on file at the School Board office for three (3) years.

8.         The Vernon Parish School Board shall ensure that individual student test data in electronic and paper format are protected from unauthorized access and disclosure. The District Test Coordinator and other authorized users of the LEAPweb Reporting System, the LEAPdata Query System, and the Enhanced Assessment of Grade Level Expectations (EAGLE) System shall be responsible for ensuring the security of all passwords, any disks or CD's with downloaded individual student test data, and student-level data open on a computer screen.  Any student information from these systems shall not be disclosed to anyone other than a state, district, or school official, or parent/guardian as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).  All users who are granted a password to these systems shall abide by FERPA provisions. 

            School level passwords for access to individual school data shall be provided to school principals by the District Test Coordinator as requested.  Principals shall be responsible for distributing the password as needed to school personnel and to provide for security and confidentiality of the school level password.

            All users shall be required to sign a security agreement guaranteeing they will not share any password with unauthorized individuals and maintain the confidentiality of student data.  A copy of the security agreement shall be sent to the District Test Coordinator for safekeeping, or for school users, maintained by the principal of each school.  Signed security agreements shall be valid until the District Test Coordinator receives notification that the Security Agreement available online has been revised.  A new security agreement shall be signed by all users each year after the new password letter for schools and districts has been automatically generated in August of each year.  If a breach in security occurs, principals shall immediately contact the District Test Coordinator or his/her backup for a replacement password.  Users who have access to these systems and leave their positions at a district or school site shall not use or share any passwords.  District Test Coordinators shall send their signed security agreements for the Louisiana Department of Education.

            9.         Any testing irregularities including anonymous complaints, access to electronic data, missing test materials, or instances of plagiarism or excessive wrong-to-right erasures on a test, or breaches in test security, including access to electronic data, will be reported in writing to the District Test Coordinator, who will conduct an investigation and report the findings to the Superintendent. 

                        Investigation Process

Procedures for investigating any testing irregularity shall follow the procedures outlined in Bulletin 118, Statewide Assessment Standards and Practices, but shall include the following:

a.         In instances where any testing irregularities may have occurred, an initial written report of the alleged irregularity shall be prepared by the site administrator where the instance occurred.  Said documentation shall then be forwarded to the building principal, school test coordinator, the District Test Coordinator, and the Superintendent.

b.         The District Test Coordinator shall review the allegation of test security violation and conduct an investigation of any such allegations, documenting all investigative activities.  The formal investigation will include, but not be limited to:

i.          The location of the designated, locked, secure area for storage of materials shall be examined, and the individuals with access to secure materials shall be identified;

ii.          Interviews regarding testing administration and security procedures shall be conducted with the principal, school test coordinator(s), test administrator(s), and proctor(s) at the identified schools.  All individuals who had access to the test materials at any time shall be interviewed;

iii.         Interviews shall be conducted with students in the identified classes regarding testing procedures, layout of the classroom, access to test materials before the test, and access to unauthorized materials during testing;

iv.         Compilation of any documents to support or to refute allegations made.  All individuals who had access to the test materials at any time must be interviewed. 

A written summary of the findings of the investigation shall be provided the Superintendent.

c.         If the investigation conducted provides evidence to indicate that a breach of test security did indeed occur, individuals involved in such security breach shall be identified, and depending upon the nature of the violation, appropriate corrective and/or punitive action may be pursued.

(1)        Students found to have purposefully violated test security shall have test results voided and will be referred to the site administrator for appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with provisions of the Vernon Parish School Board Policy Manual.

(2)        Any teachers or other school personnel found to have purposefully violated test security shall be charged with violation of state and/or parish policy and disciplinary action shall be pursued in accordance with the provisions of state statutes, with direction from the Vernon Parish School Board.

d.         After completion of the investigation, the School Board shall provide a report of the investigation and a written plan of action to the State Superintendent within thirty (30) calendar days of the initiation of the investigation.  At a minimum, the report shall include the nature of the situation, the time and place of occurrence, and the names of the persons involved in or witness to the occurrence.

                        e.         In accordance with provisions of BESE's Test Security Policy, it is understood that the Louisiana Department of Education may conduct its own investigation into allegations of test security violations.  In such instances, the District Test Coordinator and parish Superintendent will aid and assist state department officials in the conduction of their investigation and provide documentation of information obtained in local investigative efforts.

            10.        All test materials, including all test booklets, answer documents, administrators' manuals, and supplementary secure materials, shall be accounted for in accordance with the procedure specified in the examination program administration manuals and other communications provided the Louisiana Department of Education.  Secure test materials include test administrators' manuals, test booklets, answer documents, and any supplementary secure materials.

11.        Vernon Parish will follow all procedures as outlined in the District Test Coordinator's manual, the school test‑coordinator's manual, and test administrator's manual, as well as procedures which ensure the security of individual student test data in electronic formats, including encryption of student demographics in any email correspondence.

12.        The Board shall maintain administrative procedures for the monitoring of test sites to ensure appropriate test security procedures are being followed and to observe test administration procedures.

13.        Secure test materials will be stored in a locked, secure storage facility at the central office and will be distributed to schools no more than three workdays prior to test administration; to the extent possible.  In preparation for test administration, schools may report to the central office in a secured facility where school staff may hand code test materials.  The STC may bring a team to assist in timely completion of this task.  Once coding has been completed, all materials will be inventoried and repackaged for storage in the secure, locked storage area of the central office.  The repackaged boxes will be sealed and signed by the STC.  Materials will be distributed on the third workday prior to test administration; to the extent possible.

  Those procedures not already addressed in this policy include:

a.         All test booklets, answer documents, and supplementary secure materials shall be kept in a designated, locked secure storage area prior to, during, and after administration of any test; all secure materials, including any parallel forms of a test, shall be kept in locked storage at both the district and school levels; secure materials must never be left in open areas or unattended;

                        b.         Test administrators are to be given access to the tests and any supplementary secure materials only on the day the test is administered, and these are to be retrieved immediately after testing is completed for the day and stored in a designated, locked, secure storage area each day of testing.

                        b.         All test booklets, answer documents, and supplementary secure materials shall be accounted for and written documentation kept by test administrators and proctors for each point at which test materials are distributed and returned.

c.         Any discrepancies noted in the serial numbers of test booklets, answer documents, and any supplementary secure materials, or the quantity received from contractors shall be reported to the Division of Assessments and Accountability (LDE) by the school district's Test Coordinator prior to the administration of the test.

                        d.         In the event the test booklets, answer documents, or supplementary secure materials are determined to be missing while in the possession of the school or district or in the event of any other testing irregularities or breaches of security, the District Test Coordinator shall immediately notify by telephone the Division of Assessments and Accountability (LDE) and follow the detailed procedures for investigating and reporting specified in BESE's Test Security Policy.

TEST ENVIRONMENT

Testing shall be conducted in class-sized groups.  Permission for testing in environments that differ from the usual classroom setting must be obtained in writing from the Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Assessments and Accountability at least thirty (30) days prior to testing.  If testing outside the usual classroom setting is approved by the Division of Assessments and Accountability, the School Board shall provide at least one proctor for every thirty (30) students.

The Board shall maintain administrative procedures to assign a different test administrator for a class than the teacher of record for the class, except for teachers testing students with accommodations and younger students, grades 3 through 8.

CONDITIONS AND PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS

The State Superintendent of Education may disallow test results which may have been achieved in a manner which is violative of test security.  In addition:

            1.         In cases where test results are not accepted because of breach of test security or action by the Louisiana Department of Education, any programmatic, evaluative, or graduation criteria dependent upon the data shall be deemed not to have been met.

            2.         Anyone known to be involved in the presentation of forged, counterfeit, or altered identification for the purposes of obtaining admission to a test administration site for any test administered by or through the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the Louisiana Department of Education shall have breached test security.  Any individual(s) or student who knowingly causes or allows the presentation of forged, counterfeit, or altered identification for the purpose of obtaining admission to any test administration site shall forfeit all test scores and will be allowed to retake the test at the next test administration.

            4.         Test scores may be voided at the school level in cases of cheating or other violations of test security.  When either cheating or the violation of test security is suspected, a committee to include at least the principal, school test coordinator, and test administrator will be convened to determine whether or not a score should be voided.  A written report documenting and describing the incident(s) will be completed.  In the event the decision is made to void scores because of cheating, the student and parents will be notified and offered an opportunity for a hearing to be conducted by the principal with the test administrator and school test coordinator also present. The principal shall make the final decision regarding voiding of test scores or breach of ethics. If the decision is made to void test scores, the school test coordinator must submit a letter on school letterhead with the principal's and school test coordinator's signatures to the District Test Coordinator.  Attached to the letter should be the written record of the breach of security or cheating, dates and times of all meetings/hearings relating to the incidents with signatures of all present at these meetings/hearings, and documentation of phone calls to parents.  Any witnesses to cheating or breach of security should complete a written statement describing the incident and sign and date the statement. These should be submitted with the written report.

            5.         Any teacher or other personnel who breaches test security or allows breaches in test security shall be disciplined in accordance with the provisions of policy and regulations adopted by the BESE and any and all laws that may be enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.  Any violation of test security or breach of ethics on the part of an employee of the Vernon Parish School Board before, during, or after testing (including erasure analysis and/or other evidence that results in the voiding of test scores) will be investigated by the District Test Coordinator.  If the violation occurred at the school level, the building principal will participate in the investigation.  In the event sufficient evidence exists to support a violation in test security or breach of ethics, a written report will be submitted to the Superintendent of Schools in Vernon Parish.  A hearing will be conducted by the Superintendent with the employee(s) under investigation, the District Test Coordinator, the building principal, and the Director of Personnel present.  If the Superintendent determines that a violation of test security or breach of ethics has occurred, appropriate recommendations for disciplinary action will be made to the Vernon Parish School Board.

                        In the event that an employee has participated in activities to provide answers or otherwise alter test scores, the recommendation will be dismissal.  All evidence of violations of test security and breach of ethics reported to the Superintendent of Schools by the Louisiana Department of Education will require a written report from those suspected of violations, the building principal, and the school test coordinator regardless of whether or not the claims are substantiated.

            6.         Anonymous complaints received by either the Superintendent of Schools or the District Test Coordinator regarding violations of test security or breach of ethics will be investigated by the District Test Coordinator.  If evidence exists to support the complaint(s), appropriate action as described above will be initiated.

Revised:  June, 2001                             Revised:  November, 2010

Revised:  October, 2001                                    Revised:  December, 2011

Revised:  March, 2003                           Revised:  September, 2015

Revised:  April, 2006

Revised:  April, 2008

Ref:      La. Rev. Stat. Ann. ''17:24, 17:81, 17:81.6, 49:953; Statewide Assessment Standards and Practices, Bulletin 118, Louisiana Department of Education; Board minutes, 2-9-99, 6-1-06, 6-5-08, 2-8-11.

On motion of Vernon Travis, seconded by Jim Seaman, the Board voted to approve the five year Project Teacher/Math Coach position funded by the Military Grant.

On motion of Randi Gleason, seconded by Angie Davis, the Board voted to accept the following employee retirements:

Maddox, Sandra, cook/Pitkin

Dowden, Steve, bus driver/VMS

Carlock, Dawn, lease bus driver/Pitkin

Bailey, Joyce, custodian/RHS

Smith, Cynthia, teacher/Optional School

Keel, Jacqueline, cook/Evans

Schamerhorn, Tammy, teacher/LJHS

On motion of Randy Martin, seconded by John Blankenbaker, the Board voted to approve budget amendments related to personnel changes.

On motion of Jim Seaman, seconded by randy Martin, the Board voted to authorize the president and secretary to pay the claims.

Superintendent Williams reminded Board members of the mandatory Headstart training on October 1st at 11:00AM and the in-service by Mr. Jon Guice on October 6th.

There being no further business, and on motion of Michael Perkins, seconded by the Board, the meeting was adjourned.

_____________________________

DOUG BRANDON, PRESIDENT

ATTEST:

__________________________________

JAMES WILLIAMS, SUPERINTENDENT