CROWLEY, LOUISIANA
JUNE 5, 2000
1) The Acadia Parish School Board met on this the 5th day of June 2000, at 5:00 p.m., in a regular session, with President John H. Quebodeaux presiding. Members present were Mr. Lyle C. Johnson, Mr. Bill Pinac, Ms. Kitty M. Valdetero, Ms. Wadie H. Bias, Mr. Woody M. Marceaux, Mr. Lynn Shamsie, Mr. Nolton J. Senegal, Sr., Mr. Roland J. Boudreaux, Mr. Rodney J. Trahan, Mr. Johnnie L. Smith, Mr. Charles F. Daigle, Mr. Shirley Vige', Dr. Robert McManus, Paul K. Bellon, and Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. Marietta W. James.
2&3) Lauren Michelle Lopez a third grade student at Martin Petitjean Elementary School led the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Lauren received a trophy for all A's for the past three years and the citizenship award at her school.
At this time, President Quebodeaux introduced Mr. Nathan Roberts from the District Attorney's office. Mr. Roberts served as legal counsel at this meeting.
4) Upon motion by Mr. Trahan, seconded by Mr. Boudreaux, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the agenda was revised by adding Routine Item 3 a (CONSIDER CHANGE ORDER FOR MIDLAND HIGH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION. Bill Ackal), Routine Item 3b (CONSIDER SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION OF CROWLEY HIGH SCHOOL PERMANENT WALLS. Don Breaux), Routine Item 21 was deleted, and wording was modified on Routine Item 1 (RECEIVE APPLICATIONS AND DISCUSS PROCEDURES FOR SELECTING BOARD ATTORNEY).
5) Reading of the minutes of the May l, and May 15, 2000, meetings was dispensed with (copies of minutes were sent to each member prior to this meeting) and adopted as submitted, upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Dr. McManus, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.
6) Mr. Carl LeJeune recognized Outstanding School Support Employees from each school in the parish. The three parish winners given special recognition were Leisa Thibodeaux, secretary at Morse Elementary, Al Francis, custodian at Armstrong Middle, and Gwen Wimberly, secretary at Church Point High. On behalf of the Board, President Quebodeaux commended support employees.
7) Mrs. Antoinette Pete, principal, introduced Ms. Leola Woods the band director at Crowley Middle School. Ms. Woods commented on the many achievements of the Crowley Middle School Band. They recently received awards in competition at Atlanta, Georgia.
ACTION ITEMS: There were no action items.
ROUTINE ITEMS:
1) The five applicants for APSB legal counsel are Mr. Gerard Caswell, Mr. Andre' Doguet, Mr. Kim Hayes, Mr. Glen Howie, and Ms. Karen King. Superintendent James recommended appointing a committee to review the applications and make a recommendation to the Board. Copies of all applications will be provided to each board member. After further discussion, upon motion by Ms. Valdetero, seconded by Ms. Bias, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board will meet at 4:00 p.m., Monday, July 10, 2000, to interview each candidate and carry out the selection process for legal counsel for the APSB. The same voting procedure used to select the Superintendent will be used to select the attorney. Each applicant will be afforded three minutes for presentation.
2) Mr. Cal Simar presented recommended changes in the Pupil Progression Plan. He highlighted changes from last year. Mr. Johnson suggested that the parish "make available" remediation for those students who are "approaching basic level." Mr. Simar indicated that the state may mandate that we provide remediation to those "approaching basic." Cost of adding these services was considered, but no estimates were made. Upon motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Ms. Valdetero, and carried by a majority voice vote (Mr. Trahan opposed), Pupil Progression Plan wording was changed to say that the APSB will "offer and encourage students" who score at "approaching basic level" remediation in the summer, beginning the summer of 2001. Upon motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Pinac, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Pupil Progression Plan revisions were approved as amended.
3) Upon motion by Dr. McManus, seconded by Mr. Bellon, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, substantial completion of electrical/AC work at Iota High School was approved, as recommended by Mr. Darrell Hicks, electrical engineer.
3a) Mr. Bill Ackal, architect, recommended approval of five construction change orders for Midland High School to cover modifications to a science room, book room, ADA ramps, fire-rated door, and health and fire code upgrades. The additional estimated cost is $178,373.10 is to be provided by the insurance company. Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mr. Senegal, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, these change orders were approved, contingent upon funding by the insurance company.
3b) Mr. Don Breaux, architect, reported on the permanent walls at Crowley High School and recommended the Board's approval of substantial completion. Upon motion by Mr. Marceaux, seconded by Mr. Pinac, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, substantial completion of permanent walls at Crowley High School was approved.
4) Mr. Carl LeJeune presented changes to the Local Personnel Evaluation Plan (copies were previously sent to all board members). Upon motion by Ms. Valdetero, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Local Personnel Evaluation Plan was approved.
5) Upon motion by Mr. Trahan, seconded by Mr. Boudreaux, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the date of the July board meeting was changed to July 10, 2000, at 4:00 p.m.
6) Mr. Rex Mills provided minutes from the Uniform Committee meeting. The recommended policy change is to require "crew length socks." Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Mr. Bellon, and carried by a majority voice vote (Mr. Johnson opposed), the uniform policy revision to require "crew length or longer socks" was approved.
"Tights that match the uniform may be worn with or without socks. However, when tights are not worn, a student must wear crew length or longer socks."
7) Mr. Johnson motioned and Mr. Shamsie seconded that notices offering remediation this summer be sent to parents of children who are "approaching basic." Comments were heard from a principal and testing specialist. Feelings were that it was too late to send notices for this summer. The motion failed by a majority voice vote.
8) Upon motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Pinac, and carried by a majority voice vote, the Board will be provided information by rank, GPA for subjects failed, overall GPA, and ACT of students who failed the Exit Exam.
9) Superintendent James indicated that high schools have seen the need for additional resource officers, and she asked the Board to reconsider these positions. The Acadia Parish Sheriff' s Department will pay for the entire cost, up to three years for the COPS officers, and the APSB will have no obligation to pay for these officers thereafter. Upon motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Pinac, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Sheriff's Department was authorized to apply for the grant for resource officers at Crowley High and Church Point High Schools.
10) Mr. Trahan motioned and Ms. Valdetero seconded to approve the Transportation/Facilities Committee's recommendation accepting Porter Janitorial Services' low proposal for janitorial service at Crowley High and Iota High/Middle Schools. It was not clear if prices were for daily or weekly services. A substitute motion by Mr. Boudreaux, seconded by Mr. Johnson, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, this matter was tabled until the July meeting when more information can be provided.
VENDOR CROWLEY HIGH IOTA HIGH/MIDDLE
A + Cleaning Service 386.00 408.00
Porter Janitorial Service 147.50 111.75
Star Janitorial 250.00 220.00
Variety Janitorial Services 215.00 200.00
11) Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mr. Bellon, and carried by a unanimous voice
vote, the Board granted right-of-way to KOCH Pipeline to replace a gas line on an existing right-of-way on APSB property near the Acadia Parish Educational Center.
12) Mr. Ronnie Aymond from Reliant Energy Entex addressed the Board. He reported that the Louisiana Public Transportation Development Department will be doing construction for drainage on Parkerson. It is necessary to lower an existing two-inch gas pipe in front of the APSB central office that serves this area. Upon motion by Mr. Boudreaux, seconded by Ms. Valdetero, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board granted right-of-way to Reliant Energy Entex for this project.
13) Mr. Shamsie motioned and Mr. Bellon seconded to adopt BESE policy that the age of buses must be ten years or less when purchased, taken out of service at twenty-five years of age, and that this policy become effective August 1, 2000. (Current APSB policy states that buses must be eight years or less and taken out of service at twenty years). After some discussion, Ms. Valdetero, called for question which passed. The motion carried by a majority voice vote (Mr. Daigle and Mr. Vige' opposed).
14) Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Ms. Valdetero, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Budget/Finance and Personnel/Insurance Committees' recommendation for employee/employer costs for group health insurance was approved to be effective July 1, 2000.
COVERAGE TOTAL PREMIUM APSB EMPLOYEE/RETIREE PREMIUM SHARE COST
Single 295.86 193.62 102.24
Two People 516.06 306.74 209.32
Family 635.64 368.08 267.56
Retiree W/Med 178.48 121.02 57.46
Retiree 1 W/Med 388.45 229.73 158.72
Retiree 2 W/Med 346.36 213.82 32.54
15) Mr. Johnson asked if some employees were given credit for years of substitute experience, and suggested that a salary be established before applications are accepted. Mr. Carl LeJeune provided background regarding a maintenance (electrician)employee who was hired as extra help, because of the heavy work load, four years ago and paid minimum wages. Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Mr. Smith, and carried by a majority voice vote (Mr. Johnson, Mr. Shamsie, Mr. Marceaux, and Mr. Trahan opposed), placement of recently hired support employees into the APSB salary system was approved as recommended by the Budget/Finance and Personnel/Insurance Committee.
16) Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Dr. McManus, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, low bid for official journal for fiscal year 2000-2001 was awarded to The Rayne Tribune.
BIDDER AMOUNT
Rayne Independent 2.50
Church Point News 6.00
Rayne Tribune .95
Crowley Post Signal 6.00
17) Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Ms. Valdetero, and carried by a unanimous
voice vote, a low proposal for cleaning and repair of typewriters and calculators was awarded to Teacher's Pet.
Calculator Classroom Office Office Classroom Office Office
BIDDER labor each Electric per Electric per Electric per Electronic per Electronic per Electronic per
repair machine for machine for machine for machine for machine for machine for
annual biannual repairs annual biannual repairs
GLYNN's 15.00 45.00 60.00 35.00 42.50 55.00 32.50
TEACHERS' PET 15.00 40.00 50.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 30.00
No. of machines 333 14 52 52 1165 106 106
18) Superintendent James recommended changing the salary index from 1.53 to 1.60 for the Supervisor of Maintenance/Energy Education. Dr. James requested that this supervisor simply be paid on the same basis as other supervisors. The Budget/Finance Committee referred this request to the full Board without a recommendation. Some suggested that this position should have been advertised, instead of giving these duties to Mr. Steve Jones. Question was called by Mr. Daigle and carried by a unanimous voice vote. Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Dr. McManus, and carried by a majority voice vote (Mr. Johnson and Mr. Pinac opposed), the Board approved changing the Maintenance/Energy Education Supervisor's salary index from 1.53 to 1.60 times a teacher's salary.
Upon motion by Mr. Suire, seconded by Mr. Pinac, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, at 6:52 p.m. the Board took a break.
Upon motion by Mr. Pinac, seconded by Mr. Bellon, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board reconvened into regular session at 7:02 p.m.
19) Upon motion by Ms. Valdetero, seconded by Mr. Marceaux, and carried by a majority voice vote (Mr. Trahan opposed), budget revisions for the year 1999-2000 and the proposed budget for year 2000-2001 were approved. Mr. Boudreaux suggested, placing additional MFP funds in escrow for future roofing needs.
20) Ms. Dianna Guidry presented results of Spring 2000 testing in Acadia Parish. She answered questions regarding test trends and results.
21) This item was deleted.
22) Superintendent James recommended the termination of Ms. Christine Semien, teacher aide in the Even Start Program. She reviewed the Board's policy regarding this matter, stating that the Board could not act on this until next month's meeting.
23) Regarding property acquired from Wal-Mart, Superintendent James received a fax from Mr. Sills which stated he did not have any new developments to report. He is expecting further actions at the end of July or beginning of August and will keep the APSB informed.
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1) Dr. James restated her request for reimbursement of legal fees related to Board negotiations to terminate her contract. Mr. Quebodeaux stated that he asked the Board for authority to negotiate with the Superintendent regarding her contract and that he attempted to keep the matter private, but the Superintendent elected to have open sessions. He stated that the word terminate was never used. Ms. Valdetero stated that the Board had not paid for legal fees incurred by Mr. Michael LeBlanc, and she was concerned that he would expect payment if the Board paid Dr. James' fees. Mr. Shamsie indicated that if he had been faced with a situation similar to that of Dr. James, he would have hired an attorney. Others expressed opinions supporting or opposing reimbursement of these legal fees.
2) Mr. Johnson asked for another comparison showing GPA for fourth and eighth grade students by school and subject with both raw score and GPA. Discussion continued regarding the merits of this request.
CONSENT ITEMS:
Upon motion by Ms. Valdetero, seconded by Mr. Pinac, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the following consent items were approved:
1) Assignments and changes of professional employees, from March 2 through May 29, 2000. 2) Sales Tax report showing a year-to-date increase of 3.24%.
3) Request from Tracy Batiste, teacher, Ross Head Start, for maternity leave from May 11, 2000, through June 2, 2000-(16.5 days).
4) Request from Stephanie Franklin, cafeteria worker, North Crowley Elementary, for maternity leave from August 15, 2000, through November 17, 2000, (64 days).
5) Request from Jessica S. Prevost, teacher, Richard Elementary, for leave without pay for the 2000-2001 school year, from August 15, 2000, to June 1, 2001.
CLOSING:
There being no other business to come before the Board, upon motion by Mr. Trahan,
seconded by Mr. Pinac, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m.
ATTEST:
Dr. Marietta W. James` Superintendent