The Ouachita Parish School Board met in regular session on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at twelve (12:00) o’clock p.m. at its regular meeting place, the Ouachita Parish School Board office.
The roll was called and the following members were present: Tommy Comeaux, Shere May, Scotty Waggoner, Jerry Hicks, Harold McCoy, Dabo Graves and Greg Manley. There were none absent.
The meeting was called to order by President Hicks, followed with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Dabo Graves and a prayer offered by Harold McCoy.
Scotty Waggoner moved, seconded by Shere May, that the Board approve the Minutes of July 12, 2022 as written. Motion carried unanimously by all members present.
Shere May motioned, seconded by Harold McCoy, that the Board approve the additions to the Agenda of Item No. 5 under IX. Business (Consideration of Policies – by Jennifer Nugent/Dr. Coker) and Item No. 4 under XI. Permission to Bid (Waste Treatment Replacements at Calhoun & Central Elementary Schools – by Waylon McCormick) as presented. Motion unanimously carried by all members present.
Harold McCoy moved, seconded by Dabo Graves, that the Board approve the amended Agenda as presented. Motion unanimously carried by all members present.
Dr. Coker announced that Kim Cormier has been appointed to the position of Interim Assistant Principal, effective August 1, 2022, at East Ouachita Middle School.
Personnel Director Todd Guice presented the committee’s recommended update on the changes to the Pupil Progression Plan. The committee consists of representatives from every school having at least one at each school. Mr. Guice stated that he is trying to bring our Pupil Progression Plan in line with our grading scale educational plan for high school, middle school and elementary students. He provided a summary of the few changes that are being proposed for Board approval that can be sent to Baton Rouge for their final approval. Mr. Guice went over the changes with the Board and answered questions regarding these changes.
After Mr. Guice concluded his presentation on Business Item No. 1, Kaitlin Ross declined an offer by Mr. Manley to address the Board.
(Kaitlin Ross was the only parent/guest attending the Board meeting that turned in request cards to address the Board, checking only IX. Business Item No’s. 1-8)
Whereby, President Hicks called for a vote and Shere May motioned, seconded by Scotty Waggoner, that the Board approve the changes on the 2022 Pupil Progression Plan as presented by Mr. Guice. Motion carried unanimously by all members present.
Dr. Coker requested the Board to approve his recommendation to allow our current Supervisor of Maintenance, Steven Hemphill, to absorb the position of our previous Safety & Construction Supervisor, Kenneth Slusher, due to his death last month and create a Director of Construction & Maintenance. In doing so, we would be placing nurses under the Director of Safety and Security, as Mr. Slusher was also in charge of the nurses. Dr. Coker would request that this Director position be reformulated with the added responsibility on the new job description since he will be in charge of all the nurses in the district. There are probably 32 to 33 nurses including several PRN’s. Dr. Coker stated that it is a big job and feels the nurses would be better served under our Safety and Security Director. In conclusion, Dr. Coker asked the Board to create the Director position of Construction & Maintenance and absorb the previous position of our Safety & Construction Supervisor.
Mr. Manley invited Kaitlin Ross to speak on Business Item No. 2 and she declined.
Whereby, Scotty Waggoner moved, seconded by Shere May, that the Board grant permission to Dr. Coker to create the Director of Construction & Maintenance position and allow him to announce his selections for these various interim positions in his Superintendent’s report at the end of this meeting. These are interim positions that will be scheduled to open for application in April or May of 2023. Motion carried unanimously.
Personnel Director Todd Guice presented the amendment to two job descriptions regarding the Director of Construction & Maintenance and the Director of Safety & Security for the Board’s consideration. The Board was provided a copy of each job description before the meeting. Mr. Guice explained that he basically took two job descriptions, one from maintenance and one from construction and combined them into one, thus creating the job description for the Director of Construction & Maintenance. He further explained that he took the existing job description functions of the Director of Safety & Security and added overseeing supervisors of the Ouachita Parish School System School Nursing Program and School Nurses to his responsibilities and that is the only addition to this previously approved and amended job description, adding that the Director of Construction & Maintenance is new. Following his presentation, Mr. Guice asked the Board’s approval of these two (2) amended job descriptions as presented. At this time, Dr. Coker announced that Marsha Hughes would continue her duties as the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Safety & Security, Mr. Orlando Freemont. For many years, she enjoyed working for and with Mr. Slusher. Now she is looking forward to a successful future working in the same capacity with Mr. Freemont and the nurses.
Mr. Manley invited Kaitlin Ross to speak on Business Item No. 3 and she declined.
Finance Committee Chair, Todd Guice announced there were two Finance Committee meetings last month, July 7 and July 25. The July 7, 2022 meeting was a special called meeting in which the committee recommended to the Board the approval of a pay raise proposal. This Board took that up on July 12 and approved that for our employees. Our regularly scheduled meeting was July 25 here in the Boardroom. There were three items on the Agenda and the Minutes and Agenda have been attached for your review. There is a report on a presentation attached by Ms. Mekus on the 2022-2023 Consolidated Budget presentation that was just a report to the committee, discussion of a salary study and analysis for all employees. The committee felt that for some time the committee agreed that it was time to really take a deep dive into our salary and compensation package for our employees. Our intent is to have the Finance Committee go out and seek a third party to come in and do a complete analysis for our compensation package for all our employees so we will really have an idea where we stand competitively with other districts around the area, like-sized districts in the state and in some employees categories where we stand with competitors outside the school district here locally. Our intent is to bring that report back to the Board at a later date. Mr. Guice continued his report stating that Item No. 3 is a discussion of a plan for installation of air conditioning on school buses. Mr. Boyd brought this to the committee. The plan that he presented is attached and much discussion followed. The committee had some concerns about committing $322,000 for this fiscal year and after a lot of discussion, the committee decided to recommend to the Board that the Board commit $150,000 this year concentrating on our longest routes first in air conditioning our buses. That was passed unanimously to present to the Board today and that was Mr. Guice’s initial plan since the July 25 meeting even though there had been some new information to come to light. Mr. Guice thinks it is going to help us out a lot and, at this time, he asked Clint Miller to come forward and give an update on some ESSER funding. About 11 months ago Mr. Miller reported that he got a phone call from Mr. Manley regarding a few projects he wanted to inquire about using ESSER funding for one of his biggest concerns of putting air conditioners on busses. After some discussion with Dr. Coker regarding a pre-approval request for ESSER funds, which is required for any capital outlay purchases, was denied and they basically said that we had to prove how putting an air conditioner on buses is better for COVID. So, give them the science and then they will approve it. Over the course of the last 11 months, Mr. Manley regularly asked him where are we with that requirement and has any new developments occurred? At Mr. Manley’s urging, Mr. Miller continued his quest to find a valid reason for air conditioning our buses. After searching the internet for proof, he found in the mechanical engineering department at the University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering, a professor who had written an article based on research he had done and there are certain conditions that allow one to put an air conditioner on a bus that actually helps pull the droplets out of the air which is one of the biggest concerns with the spread of COVID. Mr. Miller resubmitted that change in his application a few weeks ago and it has come back with the pre-approved status with ESSER. He stated that he entered up to 200 buses on the application but doesn’t think that many buses will be done but entered the cost for that many of $2.0 million anyway. There are some variances in that figure and thinks those pre-approved requests are actually good for 40% over what is requested of them. That doesn’t mean we are necessarily ready to go bid this item and do it because we had just done a budget amendment with ESSER that had already been submitted before that came back. Therefore, we will have to re-submit another budget amendment with ESSER that adds that budget line item to it for us to meet requirements. However, that pre-approval essentially is just a check mark when it gets put in the budget as a line item. It is not a concern of Mr. Miller’s and we should see that as soon as he is able to do another budget amendment. Mr. Miller does not know what the timeline will be as it is a big job that has to be bid out and there are ESSER funds available to help us cover that. Dr. Coker remarked that he feels we can do this within a year and a half or two years. So, we are extremely happy we are going to be able to use this money for our kids and bus drivers for this reason. The people at the state level want us to show them how we are going to use the ESSER funds and had Clint Miller not gone on line, done his research, done all the stuff that goes along with this application, we probably would have gotten our third rejection on this project. At this time, Dr. Coker thanked Mr. Miller for spending his time and energy in researching the answer to satisfy the state’s requirement for the funds.
Mr. Guice continued his report following Mr. Miller’s update on the ESSER funding application, stating that we will proceed with the process of seeking funding for air conditioning buses and asking the Board’s permission to bid this item later in this meeting. He concluded his report announcing that these are the three items proposed in our Finance Committee meeting of July 25th and the next scheduled Finance Committee Meeting will be held November 17, 2022 in the Boardroom.
Mr. Manley invited Kaitlin Ross to speak on Business Item No. 4 and she declined.
Whereby, President Hicks called for a motion on Mr. Guice’s Finance Committee Report and Greg Manley moved, seconded by Dabo Graves, that the Board approve the recommendations of the Finance Committee concerning actions of their two meetings held on July 7 & 25, 2022 as presented by Finance Committee Chair, Todd Guice. Motion carried unanimously by all members present.
Title I Supervisor Jennifer Nugent presented fifteen (15) policies for the Board’s consideration and review for approval at their next Board meeting. These policies have been reviewed in advance by our policies provider, Forethought Consultants and will also be reviewed by our Policy Review Committee under the direction of Title II/Middle School Director Jennifer Nichols and presented for final approval at their next meeting. The following fifteen (15) policies will be considered for approval at the next Board meeting: (1) Policy: BE (School Board Ethics); (2) Policy: DJED (Bids and Quotations); (3) Policy: EDD (School Bus Scheduling and Routing); (4) Policy: GAAA (Equal Opportunity Employment); (5) Policy: GAMB (Employee Dress Code); (6) Policy: JAA (Equal Education Opportunities); (7) Policy: JCDB (Student Dress Code); (8) Policy: JBD (Student Absences and Excuses); (9) Policy: JCDAF (Bullying and Hazing); (10 & 11) Policies: JD and JDE (Discipline and Expulsion); (12) Policy: JGC (Student Health Services); (13) Policy: JGCD (Administration of Medication); (14) Policy: JM (Student Voter Registration); (15) Policy: JQA (Expectant and Parenting Students). Upon approval, these fifteen (15) policies will be placed in the OPSB Policy Manual and posted on the OPSB website for public viewing.
As a courtesy to the public, Dr. Coker provided copies listing members of the Policy Review Committee as he announced their names and titles. He also briefly described their duties as members of the committee. The following are members selected to serve on the Policy Review Committee approved in the Board meeting of June 14, 2022:
1. Harold McCoy (Board Member) 5. Jennifer Nugent (Director/Supv.)
2. Shere May (Board Member) 6. Ashana West (Parent)
3. Charles Wright (School Admin) 7. Ben Hackler (Parent)
4. Jane Biggs (School Admin) 8. Jennifer Nichols (Chairperson)
Mr. Manley invited Kaitlin Ross to come forward to speak on Business Item No. 5. After approaching the podium, she announced her objection to one of the members listed on the Policy Review Committee, giving reasons for her disapproval and questioning how they were chosen.
Business Director Regina Mekus presented her monthly 2021-2022 Interim Financial Report for the Period ended June 30, 2022. The Board was also reminded that this is the end of our 2021-2022 fiscal year. We are not closed at 100% for the year but are getting there. However, I would say it is 99.9%. There are still a few journal entries here and there and of course, this time of year, we still have a few invoices that are coming in that we may be waiting on from items reflected in June. The General Fund Account is ending the period with a net operation surplus of $67,000, what was budgeted, and is a balanced budget. Ms. Mekus pointed out that this is a 4% difference in our budget, which is awesome. To achieve this, it takes everyone from Board members, directors, principals, teachers and everyone doing their job to keep us in line this way. Ms. Mekus directed everyone to look at District No. 1 M&O in the next column and see that we are ending the year with $27.39 million in fund balance and that is also relative to the adopted budget. We have the 1968 and 1995 sales tax. Just a reminder these are sales taxes dedicated to salaries. The 1968 sales tax is the 13th Sales Tax Check; so, you will see the balance in that account only reflects the accounts receivable we had outstanding for May and June where the 1995 sales tax is the 14th Sales Tax Check distributed in November of each year. So, we have six months of collections in that account. That is why the fund balances differ a little. West Ouachita Sales Tax is ending the period with $19.8 million, which is a little higher than what we entered last year. We do, however, have funds set aside in that sales tax that were budgeted to be spent on the completion of Boley. We are very quickly approaching the completion of Boley. So, those funds that were not spent in June will, of course, be spent as we go through the next couple of months to complete the construction of Boley, which was $3.5 million roughly that was budgeted to come out of the West Ouachita sales tax to complete that school over what insurance paid, which basically covers deductibles, upgrades and finishes from the original 1960’s materials to today. Ms. Mekus referred the Board to the second page under the last column pointing out the negative amount in the centralized printing of $106,000, which represents billing that has been sent out. So, as payments are received and people return to the schools, and they start sending that money back to us, that will zero out. Basically, we pay the operating cost of the program and send out the bills that cover the cost of what we spent. Referring to the last column on the third page, she pointed out that the year 2019 storm damage will be viewed as a negative $983,000, which represents what we spent over and above amount of what the insurance paid. That is due to the Boley reconstruction and is part of what is being covered with the West Side Sales Tax and, as yet, have not done those journal entries to arrive at the exact expense cost. We are trying to get the expenses all together in one place. However, at the end of the year, we will transfer that negative amount over to where it is actually being paid out of the West Side Sales Tax account. In conclusion, Ms. Mekus referred the Board to the last two pages of her report that represent the general fund and the M&O Sales Tax that give a 3-year comparison to offer a little more information on these two funds where one will see general fund revenues and operating transfers were at 103% over prior year, M&O revenue operating transfers were at 113% over prior year. For expenditures, general fund is up 103% and also 103% in expenditures and that is due to inflation. She reminded the Board of her discussion of the cost of fuel doubling in 2022, twice as much as last year. These are the things that are a concern and the business department tries to budget conservatively. Funds are set aside to make sure that these expenses are covered. The M&O Sales Tax is up 113% that is directly related to the increase in sales tax we saw last year. For the current year, it is not looking so rosy. So, last year 4% was budgeted at the beginning and had to come back to revise the budget when we saw collections had remained up during the year. This year, collection reports were received Friday for the month ended June 30 at 2% or less for the current year compared to 4% collections last year. We plan to continue to watch these figures very closely and be very conservative with our sales tax projections as we go into the budget for next year. Ms. Mekus concluded her report answering questions from the Board.
Mr. Manley reported that Kaitlin Ross was not available to comment on Item No. 6 as she had left the meeting earlier.
President Hicks called for a motion on the Financial Report from Business Director Ms. Mekus and Harold McCoy moved, seconded by Shere May, that the Board approve the 2021-2022 Interim Financial Report for the Period ended June 30, 2022 as presented. Motion carried unanimously by all members present.
On the recommendation and motion by Greg Manley, seconded by Dabo Graves, the Board selected Tim Brandon, architect with TBA Studios for the Sterlington High School East Side Bond Project.
Mr. Manley reported that no one issued comment cards to address Item No. 7.
Motion carried unanimously by all members present to select Tim Brandon as the architect for the Sterlington High School Project.
Director of Construction & Maintenance Steven Hemphill provided copies of TA2G (The Architecture Alliance Group LLC) OPSB Project Update report listing the status of their projects in our district schools. Ouachita High School alterations and additions are still in the design phase. Crosley Elementary School re-roofing is also still in the design phase, as well as, Swartz Lower Elementary School re-roofing. Woodlawn Music/Band Room has a punch list that is complete per the General Contractor, which has not been verified. A meeting is scheduled there tomorrow to review status and project should be coming to an end. The following schools are included in the OPSS Storm Damages on Various Renovations that happened two years ago: Calhoun Elementary is about 30% complete; Calhoun Middle School is about 95% complete; Ouachita High is 100% complete; West Ridge Middle is about 50% complete; Claiborne Elementary is 100% complete; Sterlington High is 100% complete; and Riverbend Elementary has not begun. Mr. Hemphill explained that some of the delay could be caused by not being able to get the right metal to rebuild the gutter system. He continued his report on TBA Studios Architecture for their OPSB Project Status Report, reporting that Boley Elementary punch list items are still being completed and the asphalt parking lot has been poured as of last Friday and workers spent last weekend striping. Principal Bates is getting landscaping done with sod being placed in front and Mr. Hemphill thinks we will be ready for school to open up on August 15. At West Ouachita High, lights are being installed in the AG building along with mechanical exhaust systems, electrical cord reels and installing existing stud walls in administration area. The tile is in at Riser restrooms and everything is being completed in these restrooms, including fixtures and partitions being installed. They are in the cleanup stage with stalls up and trying to finish putting up soap dispensers, cleaning up hallways getting ready for school to start. A meeting was held at New Sterlington Middle School last week and they are still on schedule and pouring concrete every week on Wednesdays and Fridays. In a couple of weeks they are starting to hang steel, so anybody that travels down Hwy. 165 will be able to see a new school building going up. A few weeks later they will start laying the blocks, installing door frames and they have plans to lay the main water line that runs all the way around the main campus so water will be available for mixing mortar and other materials. In conclusion, Mr. Hemphill answered the Board’s questions confirming the completion date of December 2023 for the new Sterlington Middle School. A definite date is not known until further progress is made and depending on the weather conditions.
Interim Purchasing Agent Waylon McCormick announced the bid for the Chromebook Cases [Bid No. RFP #01-23] was awarded to the following lowest responsive bidder: Ibenzer at a cost of $18.00 each using ESSER Funds with a budget amount of $500,000. Mr. McCormick was granted permission from the Board at their last meeting held on July 12, 2022 to let the bid for this product and accept the lowest bid meeting qualifications, awarding the bid to Ibenzer.
On the recommendation of Purchasing Agent Waylon McCormick, Tommy Comeaux moved, seconded by Dabo Graves, that the Board accept the following bids meeting specifications from: (1. Matt’s Music, Music & Arts and Woodwinds/Brasswinds for Musical Instruments and paid with General Fund/Band from various budgets [Bid No. 02-23]. About six instruments did not receive responsive bids and will be re-bid separately. Accept the bid from: (2. Dupuy Flooring for Library Flooring for a total bid of $122,037.00 and paid with ESSER funds from various budgets (Will be used for 7 school libraries).
Mr. Manley reported that no one turned in a comment card to speak to Item No. X. Evaluation of Bids.
Motion carried unanimously by all members present on Mr. Comeaux’s motion under Evaluation of Bids.
On the recommendation of Purchasing Agent Waylon McCormick, Tommy Comeaux moved, seconded by Dabo Graves, that the Board grant permission to bid the following items: (1. HVAC Equipment (RHS/Riser Elementary/WOHS) [Bid No. 05-23); (2. Parking Lot (WMHS-Riggs St.) [Bid No. 06-23); (3. Bus Air Conditioners [Bid No. 07-23]; (4. Waste Treatment Replacements (Calhoun Elem & Central Elem) [Bid No. 08-23].
Mr. Manley reported that no one turned in a comment card to speak to Item No. XI. Permission to Bid.
Motion carried unanimously by all members present on Mr. Comeaux’s motion under Permission to Bid items listed.
Dr. Coker announced that the following appointments will open for permanent application in April or May of 2023, but currently are created for interim positions:
Interim Director of Construction and Maintenance - Steven Hemphill Interim Director of Safety and Security - Orlando Freemont Interim Supervisor of Maintenance - Todd Leonard
Announcements continued with Dr. Coker’s invitation for all to attend the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Opening at Boley Elementary School on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.
Dr. Coker gave a brief summary on “The Back to School Leadership Conference” held last Thursday and Friday with our principals, assistant principals, directors, supervisors and some of our curriculum coordinators. He commented about seeing more excitement from our administrators than he had seen in several years. The meeting was abuzz and very attentive on the subjects discussed and what attendees were being prepared for. As he explained the excitement about the beginning of this school year, a sense of confidence was expressed in what can be accomplished with these students when our administration promotes this kind of enthusiasm.
The following announcement from Dr. Coker included the pre-approval for some more ESSER monies for items we have been waiting for. Several schools that have received ESSER funds are East Ouachita Middle for air handlers at $500,000, Robinson Elementary Out-Door Classroom at $80,000, Sterlington High School Eating Facility and Richwood High School Eating Facility, of which their outside areas are being covered that allows the students to come from the cafeteria and have their meals outside under the covered area at $400,000 each. State of the art bus cameras are also being considered for installation on every one of our buses at a cost of about $487,000. The annual cost of maintaining the cameras will be about $45,000 annually in making sure the programs are working properly. We are also in the market for securing bus routing software, in which Mr. Boyd, Michelle and Mr. Guice are researching their best options for their transportation program at a cost of about $60,000 for the software. Last, but not least, Dr. Coker happily announced that pre-approval was received on the recruitment and retention pay for all of our full-time employees. Whereby, in October, all of our employees will be given a $2,000 Recruitment and Retention one-time check out of ESSER monies. He reminded the Board that this payment will go into a budget revision where we have already revised quite a considerable amount of it. It is just a matter of submitting it and waiting for the state to give us a “check off” on the budget revision and we are good to go.
President Hicks announced that the next Board meeting will be on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 12:00 noon.
THIS IS OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION that the attached certification forms signify that the Ouachita Parish School Board members have completed their required 6.0 hours of attendance for training and instruction, with all of the members earning well above the required credit hours and are also in compliance with the Continuing Education Training requirements for the year 2021 according to the Louisiana Revised Statute (LSA-R.S. 17:53) mandated by our legislators and made effective January 1, 2011. This post and certification are being entered into the 2022 Minute Book to confirm that 6.0 mandated attendance requirements have been met that includes the required one-hour Louisiana Board of Ethics training course for 2021 for the following Board members: Tommy Comeaux, Shere May, Scotty Waggoner, President Jerry R. Hicks, Harold McCoy, Dabo Graves and Vice President Greg Manley. A Press Release from the superintendent was sent on August 18, 2022 to be published in our Official Journal, The Ouachita Citizen, announcing that our Board members have completed their required credit hours of 6.0 units of training according to the Louisiana Revised Statute (LSA-R.S. 17:53). (The Ouachita Parish School Board members training certificates are attached).
There being no further business to discuss, Greg Manley moved, seconded by Dabo Graves, that the meeting adjourn. Motion carried unanimously by all members present.
OUACHITA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Jerry R. Hicks, President
ATTEST:
Don Coker, Secretary
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