CROWLEY, LOUISIANA

JANUARY 8, 2007

The Acadia Parish School Board met on this the 8^th day of January 2007, at 5:00 p.m., in a regular session, with Mr. Gerard Caswell, Board Attorney, presiding over the meeting, pending election of officers.  Prior to the opening of the meeting, Mr. Robbie Barousse, Clerk of Court, conducted swearing in and installation of Acadia Parish School Board members.

Mr. Michael Leonards called roll and members present were Mr. Israel G. Syria, Mr. Douglas J. LaCombe, Mr. Lynn Shamsie, Mr. John A. Suire, Mr. Roland J. Boudreaux, Mr. Gene Daigle, Mr. James Higginbotham, Mr. Milton R. Simar, and Secretary-Treasurer, Superintendent John E. Bourque.

2)         Mr. John Suire, a board member, led the prayer.

3)         Mr. Gerard Caswell, board attorney, led the pledge of allegiance.

4)         Recognize chorus students.

This item was deleted from the agenda.

5)         Installation of board members.

Swearing in of board members took at the beginning of this meeting.

6)         Election of Board President.

Mr. Gerard Caswell called for nominations for president. Mr. Suire nominated Mr. Roland Boudreaux for president.  Mr. Caswell called for other nominations.  No other nominations were offered.  Upon motion by Mr. Daigle and seconded by Mr. Simar, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, nominations were closed.  Mr. Boudreaux was elected president, upon motion by Mr. Suire, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.  Mr. Boudreaux was congratulated and Mr. Caswell turned the meeting over to him.

7)         Election of Board Vice-President.

Mr. Boudreaux called for nominations for Board Vice-President. Mr. Shamsie nominated Mr. Gene I. Daigle for Board Vice-President.   Mr. Boudreaux called for other nominations.  No other nominations were offered.  Upon motion by Mr. Simar, seconded by Mr. Syria, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, nominations were closed.  Mr. Daigle was elected Board Vice-President, upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mr. Suire, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

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

Upon motion by Mr. LaCombe, seconded by Mr. Syria, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the agenda was revised by adding to Opening Item 11 (RECOGNIZE MS. LEE ANN WALL WHO RECEIVED NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION), adding Routine Item 1a (CONSIDER APPOINTMENT OF HEAD START BUS DRIVER FOR CROWLEY AREA), and Consent Item 4 (CONSIDER A REQUEST FROM SHARON HOFFPAUIR, CAFETERIA TECHNICIAN, CROWLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL, FOR A LEAVE WITHOUT PAY DUE TO ILLNESS IN THE FAMILY).

9)         Read and approve minutes of the December 4, 2006, board meeting.

Reading of the minutes of the December 4, 2006, board meeting was dispensed with (copies of minutes were sent to each member prior to this meeting) and adopted as submitted, upon motion by Mr. Daigle, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.

10)       Recognize Ms. Katherine Whittington, recipient of Quality Science and Math Grants, and Ms. Christy Higginbotham and Ms. Angie LaVergne recipients of Acadiana Educational Endowment Grants.

Mrs. Margaret Jones, director, introduced Ms. Katherine Whittington, a recipient of Quality Science and Math Grants.  She also introduced Ms. Christy Higginbotham and Ms. Angie LaVergne recipients of Acadiana Educational Endowment Grants for instructional supplies.  They briefly addressed the Board.

11)       Recognize Ms. Jeanne Elliott and Ms. Lee Ann Wall recipients of National Board Certification.

Mrs. Ellan Baggett, supervisor, introduced Ms. Jeanne Elliott, a science teacher at Richard Elementary School, and Ms. Lee Ann Wall, a teacher at Iota Middle School, both recently received National Board Certification.

At this time, upon motion by Mr. LaCombe, seconded by Mr. Syria, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, Opening Item 11a (CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING A WAGE INCREASE FOR NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION) was added to the agenda.

11a)     Consider implementing a wage increase for National Board Certification.

Upon motion by Mr. LaCombe, seconded by Mr. Syria, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Acadia Parish School Board will fund the corresponding pay increase (up to $2,500) for half a year, until state funding follows in the fall semester, was approved by the Board.  State funding will follow in the next fiscal year.

ACTION ITEMS:      There were no action items to address.

ROUTINE ITEMS:

1)         Receive and consider approval of bus bids for Head Start buses.

Mrs. Sondra Myers reviewed bids received for three new buses for Head Start funded by a special one-time grant.  Upon motion by Mr. Syria, seconded by Mr. Simar, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board approved the purchase of one 54-passenger bus and two 72-passenger buses for a total cost of $232,280, as recommended by the committee.

1a)       Consider appointment of Head Start bus driver for Crowley area.

There were four applicants for a Head Start bus driver.   Superintendent Bourque recommended Mr. Chris Allen for the position.  Upon motion by Mr. Suire, seconded by Mr. Higginbotham, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, Mr. Chris Allen was appointed Ross Head Start bus driver for the Crowley area.

2)         Consider approval of Internal Dispute Resolution (Impasse) Policy.

Mrs. Sondra Myers went over the Internal Dispute Resolution Policy for Head Start.  There have been no changes from prior years.  Upon motion by Mr. Higginbotham, seconded by Mr. Daigle, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board approved the Head Start Internal Dispute Resolution (Impasse) Policy.

3)         Consider Board Member to serve on the head Start Policy Council.

Upon motion by Mr. Suire, seconded by Mr. LaCombe, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, Mr. Syria was named to serve on the Head Start Policy Council as Acadia Parish School Board member, as recommended by Superintendent Bourque.

4)         Consider a roof status survey.

Mr. Ronnie Chaumont, supervisor, went over plans to conduct a comprehensive roof status survey throughout the parish.  Mr. Bill Ackal will assist with this project, at no cost, in an effort to anticipate roofing problems and prioritize any future needs.  A comprehensive report will be presented to the Board by this summer.  Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mr. Suire, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board approved plans to conduct a roof status survey of Acadia Parish School Board facilities.

5)         Hear an update on the smoking ban.

Mrs. Ellan Baggett, supervisor, updated the Board on implementation of a complete ban of tobacco products on school campuses.  Notification was given to all schools in December 2006.  The ban went into effect January 1, 2007.

6)         Consider setting dates for the January committee meetings and February board meeting.

Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mr. Daigle, and carried by a unanimous voice vote,  the date for the committee meetings will be Wednesday, January 17, 2007, a goals meeting will be held afterwards, and the board meeting will be held on Monday, February 5, 2007.  Mr. Boudreaux, board president, will appoint members to serve on the Personnel/Insurance and Budget/Finance Committees, prior to the meeting.

7)         Consider going into executive session to discuss workers’ compensation claim.

This item was deleted from the agenda, as the attorney deemed it did not require board action.

8)         Correspondence

Superintendent Bourque remarked on correspondence regarding the 2007 LSBA Convention to be held Mar 8-10, 2007, in New Orleans.  He also called attention to Act 66 which requires each board member to receive six hours of training and instruction in school laws of the state, duties and responsibilities of school boards, and in educational trends, research and policy.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

1)         Discuss policy revisions necessary as the result of changes in state law.

Mrs. Ellan Baggett, supervisor, presented proposed changes in policy as the result of state legislation.  These will be reviewed at committee and voted on at the February board meeting.

CONSENT ITEMS:

Upon motion by Mr. Syria,  seconded by Mr. Simar, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the following action was taken by the Board.

1)         Approved assignments and changes of professional employees.

2)         Received notification of retiring employees.

3)         Received the monthly sales tax report showing a year-to-date increase of 24.05 percent.

4)         Granted a request to Sharon Hoffpauir, cafeteria technician, Crowley Middle School, for a leave without pay due to illness in the family.

SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS:

Superintendent Bourque welcomed new members and thanked the press for their coverage.  He also thanked other elected officials who were in attendance.

Mr. Boudreaux recognized elected officials and thanked the board for their confidence in selecting him as president.  He encouraged the new board members to continue with the progress achieved over the past four years.

CLOSING:

* Mr. LaCombe

There being no other business to come before the Board, upon motion by (Dr. Proctor), seconded

* Mr. Daigle

by (Mr. Vige), and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m.

______________________________

Roland J. Boudreaux, President

ATTEST:

_____________________________________

John E. Bourque, Superintendent

(* Corrected at the February 5, 2007, board meeting)