CROWLEY, LOUISIANA

APRIL 7, 2003

1)         The Acadia Parish School Board met on this the 7^th Day of April 2003, at 5:00 p.m., in a regular session, with President John Quebodeaux presiding.  Members present were Mrs. Ezora J. Proctor, Mr. Lyle C. Johnson, Mr. Lynn Shamsie, Mr. Roland J. Boudreaux, Mr. Gene Daigle, Mr. Shirley Vige’, Dr. Robert L. McManus, and Superintendent John E. Bourque, Secretary-Treasurer.

2&3)    Mrs. Ezora Proctor introduced Reverend Jesse Bates from Branch who led the prayer and Ali Fontenot a kindergarten student at Branch Elementary who led the Pledge of Allegiance.

4)         Consider approval of a revised agenda, if there are any changes.

            The agenda was revised by deleting Opening Item 7 and moving Routine Items 1 and 11 to Discussion Item 1 (CONSIDER RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PERSONNEL/INSURANCE COMMITTEE REGARDING THE SELECTION OF INTERVIEW PANELS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS, AND POLICY CHANGES AS RECOMMENDED FROM FORETHOUGHT CONSULTING.), upon motion by Dr. McManus, seconded by Mr. Boudreaux, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

5)         Read and approve minutes of the March 3, and March 19, 2003, meetings.

            Reading of the minutes of the March 3, and March 19, 2003, meetings was dispensed with (copies of minutes were sent to each member prior to this meeting).  Upon motion by Mrs. Proctor, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, minutes of the March 3 meeting were adopted as submitted.  Minutes of the March 19, 2003, meeting were adopted as corrected to reflect Mr. Lyle Johnson, Vice President, presiding at the meeting in the absence of President John Quebodeaux, upon motion by Mrs. Proctor, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

6)         Recognize Crowley Kindergarten students.

            Principal, Mrs. Ida Yeager, introduced students from Crowley Kindergarten who presented a song in sign language.

7)         Recognize Iota High and Crowley High Girls’ Sweet Sixteen Basketball Teams.

            This item was deleted and will be on the May board meeting agenda.

ACTION ITEMS:

            There were no action items to address.

ROUTINE ITEMS:

1)         Consider recommendation of the Personnel/Insurance Committee regarding the selection of interview panels for administrative positions.

            This item was moved with Routine Item 11 to Discussion Item 1.

2)         Consider recommendation of the Personnel/Insurance Committee regarding a position change from Director of Personnel to Supervisor of Personnel.

            Upon motion by Mrs. Proctor, seconded by Mr. Vige', and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board approved a position change in the Personnel Department to down grade the Director of Personnel to Supervisor of Personnel, upon the retirement of Mr. Carl LeJeune.

3)         Consider recommendation of the Budget/Finance Committee regarding textbook purchases for 2003-2004.

            Upon motion by Mr. Vige', seconded by Mr. Daigle, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board approved textbook purchases for 2003-04, as recommended by the Budget/Finance Committee, and adopted core curriculum textbooks at an estimated cost of $575,092.  This does not include health and computer literacy textbooks, which would cost an additional $104,062.

4)         Consider recommendation of the Budget/Finance Committee regarding assignment of a mineral lease.

            Upon motion by Mr. Vige’, seconded by Dr. McManus, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board approved assignment of a mineral lease on Section 16, Township 11 South, Range 1 East, to Synergy Oil & Gas, previously reviewed and approved by the attorney.

5)         Consider air conditioning Crowley Middle School's gymnasium.

            Superintendent Bourque indicated that proposals were received for air conditioning the gymnasium at Crowley Middle School.  Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mrs. Proctor, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board granted the low proposal of $37,502 for an A/C system to Libby Air Conditioning, and the low proposal of $7,650 for electrical work to H & H Electrical Service.

6)         Consider recommendation of the Budget/Finance Committee regarding change in policy for bus drivers’ fuel supplement.

            Upon motion by Mr. Vige', seconded by Mr. Boudreaux, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the following policy change regarding bus drivers' fuel supplement was approved, as recommended by the Budget/Finance Committee.

                                               BUS DRIVERS’ FUEL SUPPLEMENT

            In the event of escalating fuel costs, the following policy shall apply to contract drivers of the Acadia Parish School Board.

Fuel costs shall be monitored - using the Department of energy - gulf Coast diesel price index.

            A calendar monthly average price per gallon shall be computed.  If the monthly average exceeds the established base of $1.40 per gallon, a fuel adjustment factor shall be calculated as follows:

The amount above the base shall be converted to a per mile cost at 5 miles per gallon

Double this factor and apply it to the number of one-way miles driven by each driver

Apply this rate to the number of actual driving days per month

Payment shall be remitted to the drivers’ quarterly, in the month following the end of each applicable calendar quarter

If supplemental funding for fuel costs are subsequently received from the state or any other source, the Acadia Parish School Board shall first recover the amount previously paid to drivers, then distribute the balance.

The cost of this fuel subsidy shall be separately identified and reported to the Budget and Finance Committee.

7)         Consider recommendation of the Budget/Finance Committee regarding guidelines for the use of phones on school buses.

            It was noted that cellular phones have been replaced by digital phones supplied by Cingular.  Under this program drivers are mandated to have a workable phone on their route.  Each driver will have 50 minutes for business use.  Any additional minutes would be paid by the driver.  Upon motion by Mr. Vige', seconded by Mrs. Proctor, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, guidelines for use of phones on school buses will stay the same, as recommended by the Budget/Finance Committee.

8)         Consider recommendation of the Budget/Finance Committee regarding request from Mrs. Ida Yeager, principal, Crowley Kindergarten, to purchase a copier.

            Upon motion by Mr. Vige', seconded by Mr. Daigle, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, Mrs. Ida Yeager was granted permission to purchase a copier with available PTO funds of $4, 395.

9)         Consider recommendation of the Budget/Finance Committee regarding the Budget Preparation Calendar for 2003-2004.

            Upon motion by Mr. Vige', seconded by Dr. McManus, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the following Budget Preparation Calendar for 2003-2004 was approved, as recommended by the Budget/Finance Committee.

2003-2004 BUDGET PREPARATION CALENDAR

Feb 19, 2003     -         5:45 p.m.                Initial Meeting

Mar 19, 2003    -         5:45 p.m.                Budget Committee Meeting

Apr 16, 2003     -         5:30 p.m.                Budget Committee Meeting

May 21, 2003    -         5:30 p.m.                Final Budget Meeting

May 22, 2003                                             Budget made available for public inspection

May 22, 2003                                             Publication of Public Hearing, Notice in Official Journal

Jun 02, 2003      -         4:30 p.m.                Public Hearing for budget

Jul 07, 2003           -     5:00 p.m.               Adoption of budget by School Board

Jul 31, 2003                                               Budget filed with Legislative Auditor

10)       Consider Superintendent's recommendation for Assistant Principal at Armstrong Middle School.

            Superintendent Bourque reported there were six applicants for Assistant Principal at Armstrong Middle School.  He recommended the top candidate, Mrs. Marlene Courville, for the position.  The Board recognized Mrs. Linda Armstrong, one of the candidates, and she requested a roll call vote.  Upon motion by Dr. McManus, seconded by Mr. Vige', Mrs. Courville was appointed to the position of Assistant Principal at Armstrong Middle School by a roll call vote of 7 to 0.  Mrs. Courville was recognized by the Board, and she briefly addressed the Board, thanking it for the opportunity to serve as Assistant Principal at Armstrong Middle School.

YEA:    Proctor, Johnson, Shamsie, Boudreaux, Daigle, Vige', McManus

NAY:   None

11)       Consider policy changes as recommended from Forethought Consulting.

            This item was moved with Routine Item 1 to Discussion Item 1.

12)       Correspondence

            Mr. Bourque noted that Wednesday, May 7, 2003, has been designated as School Nurses' Day in Louisiana.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

1)         Consider recommendations of the Personnel/Insurance Committee regarding the selection of interview panels for administrative positions, and policy changes as recommended from Forethought Consulting.

            There were questions regarding how teachers will be selected to serve on interview panels, how tiebreakers will be recorded, and how questions will be selected for interview panels.  Packages of proposed policy changes were provided to Board members.  No discussion transpired at tonight’s meeting regarding these policy changes.

CONSENT ITEMS:

            Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Dr. McManus, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board took the following action on consent items:

1)         (There were no new assignments and changes of professional employees.)

2)         Received sales tax report showing a year-to-date decrease of 16.71%.

3)         Granted request to Helen C. Sinclair, HVP, South Crowley Elementary, from March 10, 2003, to May 5, 2003, for medical reasons.

SUPERINTENDENT'S COMMENTS:

            Superintendent Bourque reported that six members of the APSB attended the LSBA Convention in Monroe.  At the convention, there was a booth for unclaimed property being held by the State Treasurer’s office.  He inquired and was made aware that the APSB had unclaimed monies in the amount of $5,294.81.  Mr. Bourque commended Acadia Parish communities for support of public education.  He invited Board members to visit a kindergarten class at Crowley Kindergarten.  He complimented the principal and PTO at Crowley Middle School for the excellent way they have worked together to raise funds to provide air conditioning for the gymnasium.

CLOSING:

            There being no other business to come before the Board, upon motion by Mr. Daigle, seconded by Mr. Vige', and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the meeting adjourned at 5:34 p.m.

_____________________________

John H. Quebodeaux, President

ATTEST:

_____________________________________

Mr. John E. Bourque, Superintendent