July 1, 1999
THE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD OF VERNON PARISH LOUISIANA CONVENED IN REGULAR SESSION, JULY 1, 1999, AT 10:00 A.M., AT 201 BELVIEW ROAD, LEESVILLE, LA. PRESIDENT PARKER CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER AND ON ROLL CALL THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS WERE PRESENT:
W.W. PARKER, PRESIDENT
LINDA WEST, VICE PRESIDENT
ALVIN C. DOWDEN, JR.
M. GENE HAYMON
C.A. HUGHES
TED PARIS
KIM REESE
MARK SMITH
BETTY WESTERCHIL
WILLIS A. FARRIS
MURPHY O'BANION
PHILIP L. GUNN
BENARD MCKEE
COL. STEPHEN SHAMBACH
ABSENT: B.R. HARVEY, ILLNESS
JANE HOLTON, OUT-OF-TOWN
There was also present Richard Schwartz, Secretary of the Board.
The meeting was opened in prayer by Willis Farris.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Murphy O'Banion.
On motion of Mark Smith, seconded by Linda West, the Board voted to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes of June 8, 1999.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Ted Paris, seconded by C.A. Hughes, the Board voted to approve the attached list of resignations.
ATTACHED
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by Gene Haymon, the Board voted to approve the attached employee termination.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of A.C. Dowden, seconded by Kim Reese, 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 Betty Westerchil, seconded by Benard McKee, the Board voted to approve the attached employee transfers.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Willis Farris, seconded by Mark Smith, the Board voted to approve the attached request to rescind a sabbatical leave.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of C.A. Hughes, seconded by Ted Paris, the Board voted to approve the attached list of current employees who were not named on school lists in April.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Linda West, seconded by Kim Reese, the Board voted to approve the attached list of new employees.
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On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Linda West, seconded by Kim Reese, the Board voted to name James Williams as principal at Leesville High school.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Ted Paris, seconded by C.A. Hughes, the Board voted to name Tommy Cannon as assistant principal at North Polk Elementary School. A.C. Dowden, Mark Smith, and Philip Gunn voted no.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of A.C. Dowden, seconded by Ted Paris, the Board voted to name Joan Simmons as assistant principal at South Polk Elementary School.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of A.C. Dowden, seconded by Ted Paris, the Board voted to name Ramona Bennett as assistant principal at East Leesville Elementary School.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by C.A. Hughes, the Board voted to name James Wesley as assistant principal at Leesville Jr. High School.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Murphy O=Banion, seconded by Mark Smith, the Board voted to name Kevin Lambright as assistant principal at Hicks High School.
On recommendation of Superintendent Schwartz and on motion of Gene Haymon, seconded by Betty Westerchil, the Board voted to name David Lewis as assistant principal at Simpson High School.
Mrs. Anne Smith and Mrs. Laura Clark, Supervisors of Instruction, presented copies of the proposed 1999-2000 Pupil Progression Plan for Vernon Parish School System to the Board for review before approval is requested at the July 13th board meeting.
Bill Endris, Director of Finance, reported the supplemental sales tax checks were issued to all employees. Teachers received $1,280.80, bus drivers $1,081.80, secretaries $1,034.99, aides, cooks and custodians received $988.16 and retirees $411.71.
Mike Perkins, Director of Child Welfare and Attendance reported that Buck Massey had offered to provide an emergency telephone line to be used as a hot line for students to report information such as threats or knowledge of weapons. The phone line would be installed in the schools and any calls on the line would go directly to Mr. Massey's office where call would be routed to appropriate law enforcement or other office. This service was offered free of charge to the school board.
On motion of Ted Paris, seconded by Gene Haymon, the Board voted to approve the installation of the student hot line in Vernon Parish Schools.
Mike Perkins reported that a committee comprised of principals and central office personnel met for the purpose of developing a parish-wide dress code for students and staff to be implemented as a one-year pilot dress code for the 1999-2000 school year.
On motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by Kim Reese, the Board voted to adopt the dress code for students for the 1999-2000 school year.
On motion of A.C. Dowden, seconded by Gene Haymon, the Board voted to adopt the staff dress code for 1999-2000. Mr. Paris opposed.
Mark Smith reported that the Insurance Committee had met several times during the past few weeks to discuss insurance issues. At the request of Mrs. Cheryl Graham, representative of Vernon Federation of Teachers, the Committee had met on June 9th to discuss the group hospitalization coverage. Mr. Dean Mobley, Representative of the State Group Benefits Program was present to address questions and concerns presented by the Committee.
Mr. Smith further informed the Board that on June 23rd, Mr. John Norris, Insurance Consultant met with the committee for the purpose of discussing property and liability insurance. Mr. Norris informed the Committee that the company which currently provides our property and liability insurance coverage, Vesta Insurance Company, is withdrawing its commercial line of business from Louisiana making it necessary for the Board to seek other coverage. Mr. Norris recommended that the Board change to Alliance Insurance.
On motion of Mark Smith, seconded by Betty Westerchil, the Board voted to accept the recommendation of Mr. Norris and the Insurance Committee to seek property and liability insurance through Alliance Insurance Company.
Bill Endris reported that the Insurance Committee met to discuss group hospitalization at 9:00 a.m. preceding the Board meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to establish a time frame for informational meetings and for gathering employee input regarding the selection of medical insurance coverage. Mr. Endris read the Committee's recommendations to the Board. A copy is attached.
ATTACHED
At this time, Mrs. Cheryl Graham, a representative of the Vernon Teachers' Federation, addressed concerns of her group and requested that the Board adopt the State Group Plan by September 1, 1999.
On motion of Mark Smith, seconded by Linda West the Board voted to adopt the recommendations of the Insurance Committee.
Benard McKee and Jimmy Funderburk gave a report from the Transportation Committee. Mr. Funderburk shared with the Board a suggestion made to him concerning placing cell phones on all school buses.
On motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by A.C. Dowden, the Board voted to request that Mr. Funderburk look into the feasibility of placing cell phones on buses and report back to the Transportation Committee.
Mr. Funderburk discussed new provisions of the Revised Bulletin 1213 which states minimum requirements and specifications for school buses. Effective July 1, 1999, all replacement school buses, at the time they are acquired by the owner, must be ten or fewer model years old for veteran owners/operators and five or fewer model years old for newly hired owners/operators. This applies to buses purchased by veteran owners/operators, by newly hired owners/operators and by school boards, individual schools, booster clubs, etc. for the purpose of transporting children to and from school and school-related activities and for use as spare buses.
On motion of Willis Farris, seconded by Philip Gunn the Board voted to adopt a resolution opposing the newly imposed provisions regarding school buses, to be sent to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, State Superintendent Cecil Picard, and to our state officials.
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board has a concern with the provisions of Revised Bulletin 1213 regarding age specifications of used school buses; and,
WHEREAS, the new state mandate requiring veteran owners to purchase replacement buses that are ten or fewer model years old and five or fewer model years old for all new drivers will create a definite hardship on our drivers and place any new owner/operator at a financial disadvantage;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT, this Board wishes to request that an alternative to the provisions stated in Bulletin 1213 be considered to allow replacement buses at the time of purchase by veteran and new owners to be ten or fewer model years old.
Superintendent Schwartz gave a report on board member attendance at the Louisiana School Board Association Conference in Alexandria March 4 - 6, 1999. Those board members who attended and the credit hours each received as follows:
NAME CREDIT HOURS EARNED
Philip L. Gunn 6
M. Gene Haymon 3
Jane Holton 8
C.A. Hughes 4.5
Benard McKee 3
Murphy O'Banion 3
Ted Paris 8
W.W. Parker 4.5
Kim Reese 3
Mark Smith 5
Linda West 5
Betty Westerchil 3.5
Superintendent Schwartz reported that most board members have earned 6 plus hours in-service. Six in-service hours are required of each board member.
On motion of Kim Reese, seconded by Benard McKee, the Board voted to open bids on bread for the parish schools for 1999-2000. Bids received are as follows:
HAMBURGER HOTDOG
BIDDER BREAD BUNS BUNS
Flowers Evangeline Maid Bread $1.12 $1.25 $1.25
Cotton's Holsum Baking Co. $ .89 $1.15 $1.15
On motion of Benard McKee, seconded by C.A. Hughes, the Board voted to award the low bid to Cotton=s Holsum Baking Company.
On motion of A.C. Dowden, seconded by Gene Haymon, the Board voted to open bids for milk and juice for the parish school for the 1999-2000 school year. Bids received are as follows:
WHOLE LOWFAT
BIDDER MILK CHOCOLATE LOWFAT JUICE
Borden Milk Products, LLC $ .22 $ .22 $ .22 No bid
Foremost Dairy $ .19.79 $ .19.79 $ .19.79 $ .15.4
On motion of Murphy O'Banion, seconded by Linda West, the Board voted to award the low bid to Foremost Dairy.
On motion of Philip Gunn, seconded by Betty Westerchil, the Board voted to advertise for bids to sell unusable equipment at East Leesville Elementary School.
In other business, Mr. Paris raised a question concerning the cost of garbage collection and Mrs. Westerchil suggested contacting the Board's legal counsel to see if the Board's contract with Eviroclean, the company that currently does the garbage collection, is legally binding.
On motion of Ted Paris, seconded by C.A. Hughes, the Board voted to seek more information regarding the contract for garbage collection from Asa Skinner, the Board's legal counsel.
Board President, W.W. Parker, appointed A.C. Dowden, Ted Paris, Murphy O'Banion and Philip Gunn to a newly formed Sanitation Committee. The committee's first meeting will be held July 13th, at 9:30 a.m.
On motion of A.C. Dowden, seconded by Ted Paris, the Board voted to advertise for an assistant principal at Leesville High School to fill a vacancy created when Assistant Principal James Williams was appointed as principal at the school. The deadline for applications will be July 9th and a recommendation will be made to the Board July 13th.
On motion of Betty Westerchil, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following resolution to Senator Foster Campbell for his work on the tobacco settlement.
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the members of the Vernon Parish School Board take this means to commend Senator Foster Campbell for his endeavors to promote public education in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Senator Campbell authored Senate Bill 192 as a constitutional amendment to establish the Louisiana Education Excellence trust fund for each public school system created out of tobacco settlement money;
WHEREAS, through Senator Campbell's persistence, perseverance and commitment to keeping the educational family of school board members, superintendents and teachers focused on the issues, the Louisiana Education Excellence Fund is now a reality;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Vernon Parish School Board does, hereby, adopt this resolution of appreciation to Senator Foster Campbell.
On motion of Murphy O'Banion, seconded by the Board, the Board adopted the following memorial resolution:
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board was deeply saddened by the recent death of Mr. Thomas "Tommy" Tilley, of Leesville, who recently passed away; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Tilley, a native of Vernon Parish, devoted many years of service dedicated to the safety and well-being of the families of this parish while serving as a deputy with the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Department;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the members of this Board wish to express their sincere condolences to Mrs. Lola Tilley and her family and request that a copy of this memorial resolution be sent to them at this time of sorrow.
On behalf of W.W. Parker, a motion was made by Philip Gunn, seconded by the Board to adopt the following memorial resolution:
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the Vernon Parish School Board records with grief and sadness the recent and untimely death of Danielle and Darnell Goodwin, students at Anacoco School;
WHEREAS, both Danielle and Darnell will be lovingly remembered and by their classmates, teachers and friends for their pleasing personalities, their cooperative spirit and their caring and concern for others;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the members of the Board wish to express their deepest sympathies to Belinda and Kenneth Grow and Wayne and Lori Goodwin and their families and requests that a copy of this memorial resolution be send to them at this time of sorrow.
On behalf of B.R. Harvey, a motion was made by Benard McKee, seconded by the Board to adopt the following memorial resolution:
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the members of the Vernon Parish School Board were deeply saddened by the recent and untimely death of Brad Robinson, a member of the junior class at Hicks High School and the nephew of Mr. Mike Charrier, teacher at Simpson School; and
WHEREAS, Brad will be remembered for his pleasing personality, his outlook on life, his love and concern for others, and his Christian beliefs and influence. He will be sadly missed by his family and his many friends;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Board requests that a copy of this memorial resolution be sent, along with its heartfelt sympathies, to Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Robinson and their family at this time of sorrow.
On motion of Betty Westerchil, 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 sincere sympathies to the family of Mr. Oscar Lodridge, Jr., of Leesville, who recently passed away; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Lodridge was a long time and well known resident of this area and he will be sadly missed by his family and friends;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, the Board requests that a copy of this memorial resolution be sent to Mrs. Lodridge and her family at this time of bereavement.
There being no further business, on motion of Benard McKee, seconded by the Board the meeting was adjourned.
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W.W. PARKER, PRESIDENT
ATTEST:
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RICHARD SCHWARTZ, SUPERINTENDENT