CROWLEY, LOUISIANA
JULY 6, 1998
1) The Acadia Parish School Board met on this the 6th day of July 1998, at 5:00 p.m., in regular session, with President Myron Clark Hoffpauir presiding. Members present were Lyle C. Johnson, Kitty M. Valdetero, Wadie H. Bias, Woody M. Marceaux, John A. Suire, Lynn Shamsie, John H. Quebodeaux, Sr., Nolton J. Senegal, Sr., Roland J. Boudreaux, Rodney J. Trahan, Johnnie L. Smith, Charles F. Daigle, Shirley F. Vige', Dr. Robert McManus, Lynn Miller, and Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Marietta W. James.
2&3) Lindsey Kirkpatrick, student at Branch Elementary School, delivered the prayer and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
4) The agenda was revised by adding Routine Item l a (CONSIDER CALLING A SPECIAL MEETING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1998, AT 5:00 P.M.), upon motion by Mr. Boudreaux and seconded by Mr. Shamsie; adding Routine Item 13a (CONSIDER APPROVAL OP CARL PERKINS LOCAL BUDGET APPLICATION), upon motion by Mr. Marceaux and seconded by Ms. Valdetero; adding Routine Item 14a (HEAR REPORT ON ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL), upon motion by Mr. Trahan and seconded by Mr. Vige'; adding Consent Item 4a (CONSIDER REQUEST FROM DEIDRA FREELOW FOR LEAVE WITHOUT PAY), upon motion by Mr. Trahan and seconded by Ms. Valdetero. All motions to revise the agenda were carried by a unanimous voice vote.
5) Reading of the minutes of the June 1, 1998, meeting was dispensed with (copies of minutes were sent to each member prior to this meeting) and approved as submitted, upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Mr. Boudreaux, and carried by a unanimous voice vote.
6) Sandra Doguet and Marie Janise, principal and teacher, discussed a $42,155 reading grant awarded to Church Point Elementary for grades 1 to 5. Ms. Janise answered questions from the Board, and both were commended.
ACTION ITEMS:
1) Mr. Quebodeaux motioned and Mr. Trahan seconded to award a maximum two-year contract to all certified personnel. Board members discussed the merits of two-year contracts vs. four-year contracts. Presently, the law allows a minimum of two year contracts, and a maximum of four year contracts. The motion failed by a roll call vote of 10 to 5.
YEA: Johnson, Valdetero, Quebodeaux, Boudreaux, Trahan
NAY: Bias, Marceaux, Suire, Shamsie, Senegal, Smith, Daigle, Vige', McManus, Miller
ROUTINE ITEMS:
1) Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the board meeting will be Tuesday, September 8, instead of Monday, September 7 (Labor Day).
1 a) Upon motion by Mr. Quebodeaux, seconded by Mr. Vige', and carried by a unanimous voice vote, a Special Board meeting will be held Wednesday, July 22, 1998, to hear report from North Texas University regarding the support personnel study.
2) Upon motion by Mr. Daigle, seconded by Dr. McManus, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, Superintendent James' recommendation was approved and Mr. Charles Barbier was appointed to the position of Assistant Principal at Church Point Elementary School. Mr. Barbier was recognized and commended by the Board.
3) Upon motion by Dr. McManus, seconded by Mr. Miller, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, Superintendent James' recommendation was approved and Ms. Norma Nix was appointed to the position of Assistant Principal at Iota High School. .Ms. Nix was recognized and commended by the Board.
4) Upon motion by Mr. Boudreaux, seconded Mr. Trahan, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, Superintendent James' recommendation was approved and Mr. Mikal Stall was appointed to the position of Assistant Principal at Rayne High School. Mr. Stall was recognized and commended by the Board.
5) Mr. Boudreaux motioned and Mr. Marceaux seconded to approve Superintendent James' recommendation to name Mr. Kent Johnson for the Rayne area bus driver. A substitute motion by Mr. Quebodeaux, seconded by Dr. McManus, to name Mr. Mark Castille who lives in the area of the Rayne bus route, passed by a majority voice vote. Mr. Castille was recognized and commended by the Board.
6) Upon motion by Mr. Daigle, seconded by Mr. Vige', and carried by a unanimous voice vote, substantial completion of re-roofing at Church Point High School was approved.
7) Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mr. Senegal, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, substantial completion of re-roofing at Crowley Middle School was approved.
8) Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Mr. Senegal, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Transportation/Facilities and Budget/Finance Committees' recommendation to award low base bid of $348,299 to Miller Roofing to re-roof Crowley High School was approved.
BIDDER BASE BID ALTERNATE 1 UNIT DAYS
E.M.C $393,000 $113,000 $3.00 120
Lundin Roofing $434,000 $182,000 $2.50 210
Miller Roofing $348,299 $135,000 $5.00 140
9) Upon motion by Ms. Valdetero, seconded by Mr. Senegal, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Transportation/Facilities and Budget/Finance Committees' recommendation to award the bid of $66,400 to E. L. Habetz (the only bid received) to replace a kitchen hood at Crowley High School was approved.
10) Upon motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, bids for Official Journal for fiscal year 1998-99 as recommended by the Budget/Finance Committee was awarded to the Rayne Tribune who submitted the low bid of .30 per legal square with no charge for other insertions.
BIDDER PER LEGAL SQUARE OTHER INSERTIONS
Rayne Independent 2.00 2.00
Rayne Tribune .30 Free
Post Signal 5.00 Free
Church Point News 5.00 5.00
11) Upon motion by Mr. Shamsie, seconded by Ms. Valdetero, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board approved the Budget/Finance Committee's recommendation and awarded low bid to Foremost for milk, dairy products, and juice; awarded low bid to Holsum (Cotton Bros.) for bread; awarded low bid for small equipment; and for paper and cleaning 'supplies to various vendors whose low bid met specifications.
12) Mr. Daigle motioned and Mr. Smith seconded to approve the Budget/Finance Committee's recommendation for. pay raises of $1,800 ($1,300 state; $500 parish) for teachers, and $500 ($300 state; $200 parish) for support employees. A substitute motion by Mr. Shamsie to increase raises for teachers to $2,300 ($1,300 state; $1,000 parish) was seconded by Mr. Boudreaux. Discussion followed. The estimated cost of the additional raise increase for teachers and indexed personnel is $450,000.
A motion by Mr. Senegal, seconded by Mr. Daigle, to table this item and refer it back to the Budget/Finance Committee for further study, passed by a majority voice vote.
13) Upon motion by Mr. Quebodeaux, seconded by Mr. Trahan, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, consideration to adopt the 1998-99 budgets was tabled to give the Budget/Finance Committee time to further study the proposed raises for teachers and indexed personnel.
13a) Upon motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Marceaux, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the board approved the Carl Perkins Local Budget Application.
14) Mr. Ron Lawson, architect, gave an update on the progress of the south gymnasium renovations at Rayne High School. Mr. Boudreaux mentioned it appears that the original slab thickness was less than the standard 4 inches. An on-site meeting will be held tomorrow (Tuesday, July 7) to study problems encountered with re-painting interior surfaces.
14a) Superintendent James reported that the purchase of the vacant Wal-Mart property was completed last week. Mrs. Brenda Savoie, principal, addressed the Board on her progress in organizing and staffing the alternative school. She suggested that alternative school teachers work with existing alternative classes pending completion of renovations. Mrs. Savoie will apply for a grant to help operate the alternative school.
15) Mr. Rodney LaFosse presented the Pupil Progression Plan as recommended by the committee. Mr. Johnson motioned and Mr. Boudreaux seconded to change wording from "may" to "shall" in course requirements for promotion. After ample discussion, question was called and passed by a majority voice vote. The motion to change wording from "may" to "shall" failed by a roll call vote of 8 to 6.
YEA: Johnson, Valdetero, Marceaux, Quebodeaux, Boudreaux, Trahan
NAY: Bias, Suire, Shamsie, Smith, Daigle, Vige', McManus, Miller
Discussion continued regarding grading scales. Upon motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Vige', and carried by a majority voice vote, the Pupil Progression Plan will allow students to be retained more than once per grade. This amendment retains only the first sentence of the paragraph on page 5.2b.
Mr. Marceaux motioned and Mr. Johnson seconded to use letter grades for French but not count grade toward academic average (GPA). After some discussion, question was called and passed by a unanimous voice vote. The motion failed by a roll call vote of 8 to 5.
YEA: Johnson, Bias, Marceaux, Shamsie, Boudreaux
NAY: Suire, Quebodeaux, Trahan, Smith, Daigle, Vige', McManus, Miller ABSTAIN: Valdetero
Corrected at A motion by Mr. Quebodeaux, seconded by Mr. Miller, to accept the Pupil the Aug. 3, 1998 meeting.
Progression Plan as amended passed by a majority voice vote
16) Upon motion by Mr. Boudreaux, seconded by Mr. Suire, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board went into executive session at 6:50 p.m., at the request of the parent of an Iota High School student, to consider grievance.
Upon motion by Mr. Quebodeaux, seconded by Mr. Smith, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board reconvened in regular session at 7:40 p.m. Upon motion by Mr. Quebodeaux, seconded by Mr. Trahan, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the Board upheld the Superintendent's recommendation to allow Mrs. Sensat to see her daughter's cheerleader tryout scores, and not reschedule new cheerleader tryouts.
17) There was no correspondence. Due to the fact that pay raises were tabled, Mr. Michael Leonards asked how he should proceed with salary computations for the July payroll.
Upon motion by Mr. Marceaux, seconded by. Mr. Johnson, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, consideration of raises for teachers and indexed personnel was removed from the table.
Mr. Shamsie restated his previous motion to raise teachers' salary by $2,300 ($1,300 state; $1,000 parish). Mr. Trahan seconded the motion. Discussion followed. Question was called and passed. The main motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote.
Upon motion by Mr. Marceaux, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, consideration to adopt the 1998-99 budget was removed from the table.
Upon motion by Mr. Miller, seconded by Mr. Shamsie, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the 1998-99 budget was approved as amended to include the additional raise for teachers and indexed personnel.
CONSENT ITEMS:
Upon motion by Ms. Valdetero, seconded by Mr. Miller, and carried by a unanimous voice vote, the following action was taken by the Board:
1 Approved personnel assignments and changes since the last meeting.
2 Received Sales Tax Report showing a year-to-date increase of 16.3 %.
3 Approved a request from Rebecca S. Breaux, teacher, Morse Elementary, for release of contract, effective 6-21-98, for personal reasons.
4 Approved a request from James St.Julien, custodian, Martin Petitjean Elementary, for leave without pay, from 6-8-98 to 8-26-98, for medical reasons.
CLOSING:
There being no other business to come before the Board, upon motion by Mr. Trahan, seconded by Mr. Daigle, and carried, the meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.
Myron Clark Hoffpauir, President
ATTEST:
Dr. Marietta W. James, Superintendent