PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD OF THE PARISH OF EAST FELICIANA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
August 31, 2016
PROPOSED AGENDA FOR
EAST FELICIANA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Central Office Board Room located at
12732 Silliman Street, Town of Clinton, Louisiana
REGULAR BOARD MEETING SCHEDULED FOR
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 - 5:00 P.M.
1. Call to order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of the agenda
4. Approval of the minutes of August 2, 2016 public hearing and regular meeting
5. Special Recognitions
A. Louisiana State Department of Education Science Standards Review 85 Member 1st Panel Meeting held on August 31st and September 1st, 2016 at Pineville High School, Pineville, LA, with East Feliciana Parish Public Schools being represented by Miss Dawn Barnett, Teacher, Clinton Elementary
6. Communications/Reports
(1) Expression of sympathy to the Family of Mrs. Barbara Gail Corcoran, Mother of Board Member Timothy; in her passing on Wednesday, August 17, 2016; and
(2) Expression of sympathy to the Family of Mr. Anthony Paul Holliday, Husband of Retired JES Teacher, Mrs. Joyce S. Holliday; in his passing on Thursday, August 18, 2016
A. Sales Tax Collections Report
B. Superintendent's Report
(1) Announcement of LSBA Fall 2016 Trailblazers for September, October and November Board Member Training Opportunities
(2) Receive request for Board authorization for Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent, to use his discretion on behalf of the East Feliciana Parish School Board; in receipt and distribution of various monetary and/or material donations to support August, 2016 Flood Victims, as follows:
(a) Jackson Elementary Cubs Louisiana Flood Emergency Fund for Jackson Elementary School Families, Jackson, LA 08/31/2016 $5,830.00 via 88 Donors, Goal: $6,000.00
(b) G.E. “Rip” Rohner, Kentwood, LA donation of $1,000.00
(c) Leslie or Judy Brown, Norwood, LA donation of $200.00
(d) Mr. Nick & Mrs. Pat St. Germain and Ms. Sherry Grainger delivery of two (2) large boxes containing new school uniforms, approximate value $1,500.00
(e) Ms. Becky Reed, Alabama box of school supplies, approximate value $100.00
(f) Ms. Sally Williams, school supplies, approximate value $200.00
(g) East Feliciana 100 Black Men, Mr. Tyrone Dunn, donation of $1,000.00 utilized in purchase and delivery of 80 tops and 40 pants, to East Feliciana Middle School
(3) Personnel Matters (FOR INFORMATION ONLY)
(4) Operations and Maintenance (FOR INFORMATION ONLY)
7. Old Business
8. New Business
A. To consider and take action with respect to adopting an ordinance providing for the levy within (I) the Parish of East Feliciana, State of Louisiana, for school purposes, effective January 1, 2017, of a one percent (1%) sales and use tax and (ii) School District No. 1 of the Parish of East Feliciana, State of Louisiana, effective July 1, 2017, of a one percent (1%) sales and use tax, such tax having been authorized at a special election held in said Parish and District on October 24, 2015.
Pursuant to the requirements of La. R.S. 42:19, matters not included on the agenda posted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting will not be considered unless the school board members present vote unanimously to add the item to the agenda.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent at (225) 683-8277, describing the assistance that is necessary.
There were present: School Board Members Richard Terrell, Ronald R. Thompson, Michael Bradford, Mitchell Harrell, Paul Kent, Timothy Corcoran and Elizabeth Dawson. Board Member Derald Spears, Sr. joined the meeting at 5:01:07 P.M. Board Member Joyce A. Kent joined the meeting at 5:02:50 P.M. Board Member Rhonda Matthews joined the meeting at 5:05:12 P.M. Board Member Edward Brooks, Jr. joined the meeting at 5:32:18 P.M. Board Member absent: Melvin L. Hollins. Other Attendees: Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent, Irma Lee Bendily, Confidential Asst., Samuel D’Aquilla, 20th JDC District Attorney and Scott Lazarone, C.P.A., Representatives of Faulk & Winkler LLC.
Board President Michael Ray Bradford opened and chaired the meeting and asked Board Member Ronald R. Thompson, to open the meeting with prayer. Board President Bradford then lead reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag in unison.
The Parish School Board of the Parish of East Feliciana, State of Louisiana, was duly convened as the governing authority of said Parish for school purposes by Michael Ray Bradford, Board President, who announced the purposes of said meeting in accordance with the aforesaid written notice thereof. Board President Bradford stated the Board was ready for transaction of business.
Item 2. Board President Bradford called for an attendance roll call, as follows:
Board Member Derald Spears, Sr. joined the meeting at this time.
Present: Terrell, Thompson, Bradford, Harrell, P. Kent, Corcoran, Dawson and Spears
Absent: E. Brooks, Jr., Matthews, J. Kent and Hollins
Item 3. Board President Bradford called for a motion to approve the above agenda.
Motion by Vice-President Harrell, seconded by Mr. Terrell to approve the above agenda.
Board Member Paul Kent requested to make a motion on that agenda please.
Board President Bradford related okay.
Board Member P. Kent requested the addition of two (2) items: (1) is dealing with the stipend e-mail, I just want some clarification is what I am looking for and the other one (2) is test scores.
Board President Bradford asked Mr. P. Kent and Mr. Sam if he could just address those on the Superintendents’ Report.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related sure.
Board President Bradford asked Mr. P. Kent if he could just address those in his Superintendents’ Report?
Board Member P. Kent related pardon me?
Board President Bradford asked Mr. P. Kent if he can address those in his Superintendents’ Report?
Board Member P. Kent related yes, it doesn’t matter where.
Board President Bradford would that be fine with ya’ll Mr. Terrell?
Board Member Terrell related that is fine.
Board President Bradford related so we will just add it to the Superintendents’ Report. Okay. Is that okay with everybody?
Board Members in attendance concurred.
Board President Bradford related he is going to add it to his report...
Board Member P. Kent related pardon me?
Board President Bradford continued he is going to put it in his report. Board President Bradford then asked for any public questions or comments before a vote is taken on this motion. Receiving none, Board President Bradford then proceeded with the vote. All yeas. The motion carried. Absent: E. Brooks, Jr., Matthews, J. Kent and Hollins.
Item 4. Motion by Mr. Terrell, seconded by Mrs. Dawson, to approve the minutes of August 2, 2016 public hearing and regular meeting, as published in the official journal.
Board President Bradford then asked for any public questions or comments before a vote is taken on this motion. Receiving none, Board President Bradford then proceeded with the vote. All yeas. The motion carried. Absent: E. Brooks, Jr., Matthews, J. Kent and Hollins.
Board Member Joyce A. Kent joined the meeting at this time.
Items 5.A. Board President Bradford turned the floor over to Superintendent Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Mr. President and Members of the board we want to recognize one of our very own Teachers, Miss Dawn Barnett, Teacher at Clinton Elementary School who will serve on the LDOE (Louisiana State Department of Education) Science Standards Review Committee. As you can see those meetings will be held or we held at Pineville High School on August 31st and September 1st, 2016. And we just want to commend her for getting selected to serve on that Review Committee. So that is outstanding for Miss Barnett.
Item 6. Board President Bradford asked Mr. Sam if he would like to discuss Mr. P. Kents’ Items under your Communication Report.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent questioned which items?
Board President Bradford related in your Communications Repot.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related that is fine.
Board President Bradford turned the floor over to Superintendent Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related to Board Members present the expressions of sympathy to:
(1) the Family of Mrs. Barbara Gail Corcoran, Mother of Board Member Timothy; in her passing on Wednesday, August 17, 2016; and
(2) the Family of Mr. Anthony Paul Holliday, Husband of Retired JES Teacher, Mrs. Joyce S. Holliday; in his passing on Thursday, August 18, 2016
Board President Bradford then called for a moment of silence. Amen.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent that he thinks that Mr. P. Kent mentioned two items and one of the items was the...
Board Member P. Kent questioned do you want to do the Sales Tax Report separately...
Board President Bradford related you want to do that, okay.
Board Member P. Kent continued it looks it is before the Superintendents’ Report.
Board President Bradford related that is fine. Yes, I got you, go ahead Superintendent Sam.
Item 6.A. Board President Bradford turned the floor over to Superintendent Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent turned the floor over to Scott Lazarone, C.P.A., Representative of Faulk & Winkler LLC.
Scott Lazarone, C.P.A., Representative of Faulk & Winkler LLC related to Board Members present and Superintendent Sam that the September 6, 2016 Sales Tax Report reflects collections at 5% of $546,253.71 and delinquent sales tax collections of $17,798.28. He noted you are about $20,000.00 short of where you were last July, or about 8%. He related in regards to where you are at for the 16/17 Budget that would be 7½% of your yearly Budget, which is a little short of where you need to be, if it was all even. But as you can see, you know July is never really the heaviest Month, so like I said that is 7½% so not far off from where you should be on your Budget Year-to-Date.
Board Member Rhonda Matthews joined the meeting at this time.
C.P.A. Lazarone continued it is just something that we will continue to monitor. Another thing I did want to point out, you finished June at about or just shy of 99% of your Yearly Budgeted Amount. He noted we Budgeted $2.9 Million for 15/16 and you finished at $2.86 Million, so just short and not anything that is going to be or have a significant impact on the Financial Statements or any sort of Budget violation or anything that being the fact that it is so close to your Budgeted Amount. So we will just continue to look at it, hopefully you know you can have a good Month in August and it can be caught up from where you are Year-to-Date with this Budget.
Board President Bradford called for any questions or comments on the Sales Tax Collection Report. Receiving none, Board President proceeded with the agenda.
Item 6.B.(2) Board President Bradford turned the floor over to Superintendent Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related to Board Members present that the Revised LSBA Fall 2016 Trailblazers for September, October and November Board Member Training Opportunities and you should have a Memorandum from the LSBA Membership and it is updated with revisions. So that is just for your information.
Board Member Joyce A. Kent left the meeting at this time.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related he would like to also mention that he had provided you with a copy of the recent ACT Scores from ACT. I think we ought to commend the Staff at the High School, the Central Office Staff, but in particular commend the Students who have shown growth in the area of the ACT Scores. As you can see in 2016, from 2015, you went up basically 2% points. I want to note here that many of you may or may not know but in 2012 as you can see the District Score was 18.6, it was during that time when all Students were not required to take the ACT. Only College Bound Students were required to take the ACT, so the Data will look a little different during those previous years. After 2012 you will see a dip in 2013, 2014 and 2015, because All Students were being required in the State of Louisiana, to begin taking the ACT regardless of whether or not you were College Bound. I want to commend the Students as you can see moving from 15.7 to 17.1, the District is ranked you know, one of the highest I guess you would say Districts with in terms of improvement with ACT Scores and pretty close to the State Average.
Board Member Joyce A. Kent rejoined the meeting at this time.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related it is our intent to provide you with a more detailed and more robust report next month regarding all of the Test Data for the District. We are still gathering some Data from the State and we are “crunching” the numbers as a Staff. So Dr. Germany’s Staff will come to you with a full presentation regarding how the Test Data looks for the 15/16 School Year. I can tell you preliminarily that we had some Areas where we made great strides and we have Areas where we need to make improvement. We had some Schools that improved and some Schools who did not. As you all know, often times the Test Scores lag behind, so the District School Performance Scores are not quite out. We potentially may have those out by the October Board Meeting, I can’t tell you whether we will or won’t. But we will use a calculator to try to give you some estimates of what those School Performance Scores would look like. Any questions about the ACT Report?
Board Member P. Kent related I am going to have one about that, but it is going to pertain to your e-mail and stuff on your Performance Objectives and stuff. So I will just save that.
Board President Bradford related go ahead Mr. P. Kent.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yeah, go ahead.
Board Member P. Kent related okay, on one of your Performance Objectives, Mr. Sam is to improve ACT Scores...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes.
Board Member P. Kent continued but it only deals with the ones that Scored 18 or Above correct?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related right.
Board Member P. Kent questioned do you have a picture for us on how many of last years Scored 18 and above and how many this year Scored 18 and Above?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related we will provide that in our Report next Month to you.
Board Member P. Kent related okay, I would like to have something a hard copy in my hand that tells me numbers...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related absolutely. So the State will give us a Report of basically how many Kids took the Test and then I think what Mr. P. Kent is referring to is that basically the Performance Target specifies that you know a percentage, I think it says improved the number of Students who made 18 or Above. The reason that Goal is in there is because as a District you don’t get Points, or the District doesn’t get Points for any Student who Scores less than 18. Okay, so the School Performance Score and the District Performance Score is calculated based upon Students who either Score 18 and Above, or as you can see from here if for some reason the aggregate of all Students Improved. Okay, so this Report basically says as a District All the Kids in the District in each Category, English, Math, Reading and Science, as you can see Improved at least 2 Points in English, 2 Points in Math, 1 Point in Reading, 1½ Points in Science. Okay, so but we will provide more Data to you in terms of how many Kids Score 18 last year and how many Kids Scored and that will depend upon how many Kids for example we will have more Kids who took the ACT because you have more Seniors. We are adding a Senior Class at the Charter School and that will be aggregated in. So for Year to Year you will have a different number of Kids who will actually take the ACT Test. Does that make sense?
Board Member Dawson questioned and what Score do they need to go to College, a 21?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related well it varies from University, I mean...
Board Member Dawson questioned LSU and Southern.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued well some Schools have Open Admissions, some Schools required 21 or above, it just that some Schools will take you on Probation, it will vary you know from School to School and State to State.
Board Member Dawson questioned but do we know how many made a 21 then?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I would like to, or let me get that information together for you, I don’t have it for you tonight...
Board Member Dawson related okay.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued but if you want to know how many Kids Scored 21 or 22 or 23 or 24, we can get those numbers for you.
Board Member Dawson related okay.
Board Member P. Kent questioned why would the Charter School Kids Graduate Rate or ACT Test Scores, why would we use those for us?
Board President Bradford related they are part of our District.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related they are part of the District.
Board Member P. Kent questioned pardon me?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related they are part of your District.
Board Member P. Kent questioned so we can use those, correct?
Board President Bradford related they are part of our District.
Board Member P. Kent questioned we used them last year?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related every year, every year since they have been in existence, you have used them.
Board Member P. Kent related I see.
Board President Bradford go ahead Mr. P. Kent.
Board Member P. Kent questioned pardon me?
Board President Bradford asked Mr. P. Kent do you have something else?
Board Member P. Kent related yes, I do. I talked with the and I don’t know if it was the State Department or ever who does the Scoring and they said that they sent Test Scores out in July, and they said they sent them out in August and I have yet to see a Test Score yet. I want to see some Scores, is what I want to see, did you have them in July?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related no, sir.
Board Member P. Kent questioned and you didn’t have them in August...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related we are or we have been getting some Test Score Data in and I think what I mentioned earlier was that we are going to provide the full Board a full detailed Report in October. I don’t want to come to you with half of a Report, I would rather have as much Data from the State as I possibly could...
Board Member P. Kent related the only thing that is left to come is the Performance Grade, the Letter Grade, that is supposed to come in October...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related that is a portion of it, yes, sir.
Board Member P. Kent continued okay...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued so would you rather me come to you without the Letter Grade...
Board Member P. Kent continued if there were Scores available...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued whatever the pleasure of the Board is.
Board Member P. Kent continued if there were Scores available, I would like to see them...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related sure.
Board Member P. Kent continued but I have talked to Superintendents that say yes we had them in July and yes we had some or they were supposed to come in August, they had them in August...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Mr. P. Kent, I don’t know who you talked to, I can tell you this I didn’t have any Scores in July because the reason I didn’t have any Scores in July is because during the Summer all of the Kids take the Tests at the end of Summertime, so it would be impossible for any District to get the Final Scores right after Summer School. Okay.
Board Member P. Kent continued I am telling you what the...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related if you want to tell me who you talked to, I would be glad to call and ask that Person...
Board Member P. Kent continued I can’t remember the Guys name at the Testing Center, but he says we sent them out.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related that Jennifer Baird is the Testing Director for the State Department of Education, in fact she is scheduled to come to our Principals Meeting next week. I will be glad to share information with you and let you talk with her.
Board President Bradford related he sees what Mr. P. Kent is saying, but lets do this, if there is some information or if something comes in and a Board Member would like that information give it to them. Then if you want to wait and come back and give a Report in October of your Total Letter Scores, that would be fine...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related right.
Board President Bradford continued but as information comes, if a Board Member would like to have it, give it to them. Is that okay, Mr. P. Kent as the information comes he will give it to us?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related sure, oh, absolutely.
Board Member P. Kent related okay.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I mean, I don’t have a problem with it.
Board President Bradford related that sounds good. Alright, any more questions?
Board Member P. Kent related let me, or I got to say this, I really do. If we have got to wait for the Scores for a Final Tally of Scores here, then why would the Superintendent want his Stipend paid and stuff already? That is what I am asking.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Mr. P. Kent that Stipend Pay has nothing to do with the Test Scores.
Board Member P. Kent related oh, but it does on some of these Performance Objectives, just like the ACT which you have down as a Performance Objective.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, that was a Performance Object that you negotiated at the beginning of the Contract though.
Board Member P. Kent related I understand that. I understand and I am not saying nothing bad about whether you made it or not, I am just saying that we don’t have all of the facts in front, we don’t have hard copies of what Kids or how many Kids Scored 18 on the ACT...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related but you haven’t paid me for that though, that is what I am saying, you haven’t paid me for that.
Board President Bradford related the only Stipend...
Board Member P. Kent related go ahead.
Board President Bradford continued the only Stipend, I think you were Paid for is the...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Teacher Effectiveness.
Board Member P. Kent questioned the what?
Board President Bradford related it is the Teachers Effectiveness...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Item D. on...
Board President Bradford continued so he hasn’t been Paid for anything else, that is the only one that he has been Paid for.
Board Member P. Kent questioned well who decided that he gets that Pay?
Board President Bradford related it is part of the Contract, it is in the Contract.
Board Member P. Kent related I understand that, he has got five (5) Objectives there, but who made the determination to may a Payroll Entry and cut a Check for his Performance Objective? Who made that decision?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Mr. President, let me request that Mr. Attorney, since this is a Personnel Matter, I would prefer that we go into Executive Session.
Samuel D’Aquilla, District Attorney related if you want to add it to the agenda, right now it is not added, I think ya’ll are just kind of...
Board Member P. Kent related no, I added it, I added it, this e-mail that is what his Performance Objective Stipend is about.
Samuel D’Aquilla, District Attorney questioned okay, it is on the agenda right now?
Board President Bradford related why don’t we, let’s do this, let’s...
Board Member P. Kent related this is not personal Superintendent...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I just want to make it clear that we didn’t or I didn’t get paid for anything, in terms of ACT Scores. Do you understand?
Board Member P. Kent related I am not saying that you did...
Board President Bradford related ...
Board Member P. Kent continued I am not saying that you did, what I am saying is ...
Board President Bradford related I understand what Mr. P. Kent is saying.
Board Member P. Kent continued what I am saying is, who decided to cut the Check without any Board Member giving approval or anything?
Board President Bradford related let me just say this Mr. P. Kent, when the Board and Sam you correct me if I am wrong; once the Board agreed to a Contract and those Stipends are part of the Contract. Okay, it is not necessary that it comes back before the Board to be approved, because it is already part of the Contract. Do that make sense?
Samuel D’Aquilla, District Attorney related but I think the question is...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related my point is, if the Board preferred that it come back to the Board, I don’t have a problem with it...
Board President Bradford related yes...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued if the Board prefers that it comes back to the whole Board, I don’t have a problem...
Board President Bradford continued I don’t have a problem with that.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued I would rather be transparent in terms of the process because I don’t want the Board to think...
Board Member P. Kent questioned well have we seen anything about Teacher Effectiveness, well who it was, how many it was? Did we see that?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related well it should have been in your e-mail and if it wasn’t I would be glad to send it back to you.
Board Member P. Kent related no, it wasn’t.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I would be glad to send you a copy. As you know every year all of the Teachers are Observed and Evaluated by the Principals...
Board Member P. Kent related I understand that.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued so basically there is Data that suggests how many Teachers...
Board Member P. Kent questioned so the Principal makes that determination?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related the Principal makes that sole determination of who gets what Category on the Evaluation.
Board Member P. Kent related okay and nobody else has anything to do with it?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related well there are or there is a Team of Members who help the Principals Observe the Teachers, but ultimately that decision is made by the Principal.
Board Member P. Kent related I just, I am having a problem with, I know it is a Performance Objective Mr. Sam, I know it is. Okay, what I don’t or what I am having a problem with is we don’t have any hard evidence that these Teachers became Effective, whatever they are...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related how about if I just send the whole Board some evidence?
Board Member P. Kent questioned pardon me?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related how about if I just send the whole Board some evidence?
Board Member P. Kent questioned why didn’t I have it before?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I assumed it was in your e-mail, but if it wasn’t I would be glad to send it again.
Board Member P. Kent questioned did you get an e-mail on that?
Board Member Corcoran related I can’t recall.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I sent the whole Board an e-mail, if you recall, about the Stipend...
Board Member P. Kent questioned but you have already cut a Check for that?
Board Member Dawson related yes, about the Stipend.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related the Stipend is about the Teacher Effectiveness.
Board Member P. Kent questioned but you have already cut a Check for that?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent questioned about that particular Performance Objective?
Board Member P. Kent related yes.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, sir right.
Board Member P. Kent related which was $2,000.00.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related right.
Board Member Dawson related we got that e-mail...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related that is what we are talking about, right.
Board Member Dawson continued yes, but we didn’t get the proof of it.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related oh, you didn’t get the proof of it.
Board President Bradford questioned you didn’t send the proof in you e-mail, I thought you did.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I thought I did to. I will be glad to provide it to you tonight if you want me to.
Board President Bradford related I thought he sent it.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent questioned would you like a copy of it tonight Mr. P. Kent?
Board Member P. Kent related no, but I would like the District Attorney to look at that Contract and let us know if we have a say so in this matter or if we don’t, I mean it is just that simple.
Samuel D’Aquilla, District Attorney related I can do that.
Board President Bradford related now what we can do, this is something that we can do Mr. P. Kent, if ya’ll want to or if the Board would like before he gets any Stipends, although it is part of the Contract. But if it would make the Board feel more comfortable, if something happens, if he meets one of the criteria of it we could bring it back before the Board to vote on it. If ya’ll want to do that, I don’t have any problem with that...
Board Member Spears related he thinks the question is the process that was followed, whether or not it is supposed to come back before the Board, based upon how the Contract is written or whether it was not supposed to come before the Board. So I am not sure legally, how that is supposed to be.
Board President Bradford related but the question comes in at is it is in your Contract that I pay you $100.00 example...
Board Member Spears related I don’t think that is his question. His question is not what is in the Contract, his question is the Process that is followed to actually disburse the Funds, that is the question.
Board President Bradford related let me say this, in the past and it is in the Contract, in the past with Dr. Lewis and the Former Superintendent, it was in the Contract and that Objective is met, that Stipend was automatically given. Now, I asked the Superintendent, I personally asked the Superintendent I said hey before you do anything you know make sure that all of the Board Members know about this, send an e-mail out, that is why you got e-mail, send an e-mail out for everyone can know about this Stipend. And also to I think this question also came up when Dr. Lewis was Superintendent also. When something comes up, you know and he met that criteria or whatever. But if ya’ll, if we haven’t fully checked on it and what we will do is, although it is in the Contract if ya’ll want to bring it back and say before he or before a check is issued, do you see what I am saying, before a check is issued it would come back before the Board and he can inform the Board and say hey, I have met this criteria and we can...
Board Member Spears related so basically we probably need to send it to the Policy Committee to have a Policy before that type of issue and that way it would be more...
Board President Bradford related to have a Policy to make sure that we are legal. Because if something is met, if it is part of a Contract, that I do something and I did it you know and it is part of the Contract, I should reap the benefits of it.
Board Member P. Kent related but I think this Board should get a hard copy of the results of that...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, I agree and Mr. P. Kent I apologize if the hard copy wasn’t attached to the e-mail that was the intent and what I am saying is I would like to provide that to you tonight. If you don’t mind, I would like to provide that to the whole Board. Because my intent was to have that information attached to that e-mail.
Board Member P. Kent questioned now...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related if I failed to do that, then that was my fault.
Board President Bradford related Mr. P. Kent ask you question.
Board Member P. Kent continued and questioned do you know how many increased?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes.
Board Member P. Kent questioned how many?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related so for example last School Year there were 89 Teachers, who had what you call Effective/Proficient, this year there was 100. So it increased by what 11 Teachers.
Board Member P. Kent questioned Dr. Germany what do our Scores look like this year?
Kim Germany, Ed.D., Executive Director related I can’t, I think we did fairly well in ELA, if I am remembering off the top of my head. Historically, Math has always been a weakness of the District, which is why we have the Partnership the LSU Cain Center. We are also beefing up what we are doing with ELA, that is why we have that Partnership with LSU Writing Initiative. The Social Studies Standards will be Tested differently this year, so we are already concentrating on what we need to do with that, we met with all of the Social Studies Teachers at one of the Professional Development Days. So if the District Test Scores, the School Scores have not been released.
Board Member P. Kent questioned to the Schools?
Dr. Germany related they have not been released to the District to the Schools, we don’t have that, the District Scores.
Board Member P. Kent questioned what the Performance Scores or the Grade Level, I mean the Letter Grades?
Dr. Germany related the Grade Levels, we do not have that.
Board Member P. Kent questioned I mean the Letter Grades.
Dr. Germany related no.
Board Member P. Kent related I understand that, I know it has not been released, I was talking about the other Scores. I mean you could pull it up on the State...
Board Member Terrell related website.
Board Member P. Kent continued the State thing, I mean you can look at it there. But ya’ll don’t have any copies of it?
Dr. Germany related we don’t have District or School Letter Grades. No, we haven’t gotten that, we do have Raw Data.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, we have Raw Data of some Subject Areas and what we want to make sure is before I make a presentation to the Board, I am going to present you with accurate information. I am not going to haphazardly come to you too early and then have to come back to you later and say oh, you know what that Data was wrong. I can tell you the State makes sure, before they release it to us, that the Data is clean. That is traditionally, what they try to do and I want to do the same for you, because I want to make sure that I give you accurate information. That is my job to make sure that you get accurate information. So I don’t want to give you a report and I gotta come back to you the following Month and say well you know what there has been some changes in the Data. Because that happens and the Staff knows that, the State will send you something and it may change a day later. So um October is, I think we made a Report to you last October, that was the time that we gave you the Report. If you want it earlier, we will give you what we have at the time, I would be glad to do that. I just want to give you as much information as I possibly can.
Board Member Dawson questioned but you are saying that the Students don’t know yet what Scores they made?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related we have the Students Scores.
Board Member Dawson related okay. So there are some Scores...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, we have Student Scores and keep in mind that is going to roll up into the Subject Areas and Grade Level Scores...
Board Member Dawson related right, okay.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued that I am going to try and give you that next Month. Okay, now we probably won’t have the School Performance Score, in its raw form, but we will give you an estimate of what we think it might be. The Principals have some estimate of what they might think their School Performance Scores, but the Formula is so complicated, no one in this room can tell you exactly what their School Performance Score is going to end up being. Okay, the Principals can tell you that right now. They can put in some information, in what they call the Calculator, but it is not going to be exactly what the State is going to release.
Board Member Dawson related but if you know the Students Scores, you’ve got a good idea...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, we have some idea, that is exactly right.
Board Member Dawson related right.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related and that is why I said to you earlier, we have some Areas where we made some drastic Improvements, in particular Grade Levels and Subject Areas and we have some Areas where we didn’t make improvements. We know those Areas, we have Partnered with LSU with the Writing Project, we have a Contract with the Cain Center. We have a person who works with our Math Teachers on a daily basis, he is in the classrooms daily.
Board Member P. Kent questioned Dr. Germany...
Board Member Corcoran related I just have a question...
Board President Bradford related let’s let him get through with that and then we can move forward.
Board Member Corcoran questioned you said there were 89 Teachers last Year?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related 89.
Board Member Corcoran questioned and it increased to how many this Year?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related 100.
Board Member Corcoran related oh, 100...
Board President Bradford related and also, let me point this out and let Mr. Sam point this out and then we will move forward. Mr. Sam don’t do the Evaluations of the Teachers...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related no.
Board President Bradford continued am I correct Mr. Sam?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I have no control over what Evaluation Score the Teacher will get at each School Level, I have no control over that.
Board President Bradford related okay, good. Now Mr. Spears and then we are going to move forward, Mr. Spears asked a question concerning this issue going to Mrs. J. Kent’s Policy Committee. But Mrs. J. Kent has a question, a good question also, is do we need a Policy on this information and coming back to us before the Stipend is paid. Was that your question? Do we need a Policy on this?
Joyce A. Kent, Chairperson of the Policy Review Committee related yes, but what does his Contract have to do with the Policy?
Board Member Spears related he thinks the Contract states what he receives based upon his achievements and the Policy would determine the Process of releasing the Funds to him, when you release it or whether you should not. Instead of an individual saying go ahead and release it, the Policy governs that and that way it would be clear when he gets it or when he receives it.
Board President Bradford related and Mr. D’Aquilla is going to check on that, am I right Mrs. J. Kent?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I think Mr. Spears made a good point, Procedurally how the Board wants it disbursed, what does the Board expect Procedurally to happen.
Board President Bradford related that makes sense.
Board Member Spears related it is going to be kind of like our involvement in the future where we won’t have this again.
Board President Bradford related we won’t have this anymore. Because I know and like I said in the past...
Joyce A. Kent, Chairperson of the Policy Review Committee related it is in the Policy about the Stipend being approved by the Board, it is in the Policy.
Board President Bradford related I did not know that.
Joyce A. Kent, Chairperson of the Policy Review Committee it is in the Policy.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent questioned what is in the Policy Mrs. J. Kent?
Joyce A. Kent, Chairperson of the Policy Review Committee related that Stipends are approved by the Board.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent questioned all Stipends are approved by the Board?
Joyce A. Kent, Chairperson of the Policy Review Committee related yes, it is in the Policy already.
Board President Bradford related oh, it is.
Joyce A. Kent, Chairperson of the Policy Review Committee related that is what I thought, it is in there.
Board President Bradford related I hear you Mrs. J. Kent.
Joyce A. Kent, Chairperson of the Policy Review Committee related it is in there.
Board President Bradford okay. What Mr. P. Kent?
Board Member P. Kent related I just want to ask Dr. Germany one other thing. In your Professional Opinion, what do you thinking in terms of Letter Grades?
Dr. Germany related oh, gosh, I don’t know if you would want me to take a guess. Because it is no way to guess.
Board Member P. Kent related but you have had these Scores and you have been looking at them.
Dr. Germany related yes, but we also know that the State it Grades on Curves. So just because we have the Raw Data, it is not easy for us to predict what our Score will be. We had a big battle before, where we just finished verifying the data from the State, we had Kids that was still on our Roster that should not have been. We had to go through and verify a couple of ACT Scores from the High School, so it is really hard to gauge what the Scores are going to be. Because the State goes in and they do their own calculations and they do Grade on a Curve. What we are hoping to believe is that we certainly have not dropped, is what our hope is, although we always want to grow.
Board President Bradford related okay, very good. Okay, we are going to move on and Mr. P. Kent and I thank everybody and we had a good discussion as always.
Board Member Matthews questioned Mr. Bradford, just to say something to what Dr. Germany said, that is true some people have told me the Students Scores are in. But due to the fact that the State does Grade on a Curve, the Letter Grades are not out yet. So like she said, she just can’t give you a valid answer because they do make some more changes. But the raw, the Scores are in for the Students, but they can’t just say that because you know things change.
Board President Bradford related very good Miss Matthews.
Board Member P. Kent related yes, I understand that perfectly well Miss Matthews, I really do.
Board Member Dawson related we all do.
Board Member Joyce A. Kent left the meeting at this time.
Board President Bradford questioned Mr. Sam are you touch base on the Flood, where is that, is that in this Report or you got it on the agenda somewhere else?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent questioned what is that?
Board President Bradford requested an update on the issues with the Flood?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes.
Board President Bradford asked when are you going to do that?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I can do that now Mr. President. He noted you should have in your packets the “East Feliciana Public Schools School Reopening Plan of Action 8/22/2016", it is a three page document and we will ask Dr. Roddy and Mr. Bell to kind of give you a play by play of the events that took place prior to the flooding of unfortunately our area and then what action we took as a District to make sure that we reopened, we were ready for reopening and I guess you could say post-action as well. He then turned the floor over to Dr. Roddy.
Board Member Joyce A. Kent rejoined the meeting at this time.
Knight Roddy, Ph.D., Supervisor related to Board Members present that our District like many other Districts were caught off-guard by this situation. I know Mr. Sam and I were in communications the night before and we looked at the weather, looked at rain fall, there weren’t any roads closed in East Feliciana and so forth. This caught us all off-guard and we used or once we determined to Close Schools and once you know it became an on-going thing almost daily to see what our status was. We used three different ways to Communicate School Closures, we used District Messenger, which sent out a call to all Parents to Notify them that School was out; also used the four (4) TV Networks and The Advocate and then also we have a District Phone Tree and each School has their Phone Tree to notify Staffs. So we used those different means to Notify everyone. Once we were out, there were three (3) primary obstacles to restarting or reopening Schools, one of the first ones was the condition of the roads the Parish Roads and Bridges. A lot of those small wooden Bridges on the Gravel Road had been inundated and EOC advised us to get a Certification from the Police Jury that all of those had been checked.
Board Member Edward Brooks, Jr. joined the meeting at this time.
Dr. Roddy continued let’s see we were out on Friday, the following Week Monday through Friday, I guess one week later after the Flood we got from Police Jury President Louis Kent the Certification that all Bridges and Road had been checked and there were I think about three or four that had Bridges that had been Closed and I think those did not really impact our Routes, I think all but one. So, as we surveyed reopening Schools, that was a big issue and then also just as importantly, we had a number of Staff Members that were impacted by the Flood, thirty-seven (37) I believe was our total number of School and District Employees displaced by the Flood. And then also we had an unknown number of Students that we impacted by the Flood. Let’s see it was Friday the 19th, I believe it was that we got the word from the Police Jury that the Roads and Bridges were good to go, we met as a Leadership Team with Mr. Sam and developed a Plan to reopen Schools. And I am just going to run through those, I think you all have this document here, so just to run through that real quickly. We developed this Plan and communicated it to the Principals, who also had some research to do as well. The Plan in general covered the Status of the School Buildings and Mr. Bell is going to speak to that in a moment. It included obtaining the Status of Displaced Staff and the putting a Contingency Plan in place at the Schools where they were missing Staff Members, Extra Substitutes and so forth to make sure all Classes were covered. The Plan also addressed enrolling Displaced Students from out of the District, Mr. Sam wanted to make sure that we had an accurate count of New Enrollees and so any New Student came to the Central Office to be enrolled and that number is twenty-three (23). We have had twenty-three (23) New Students enroll from Outside of the District as a result of the Flooding. Part of the Plan also was Communicating the Board Policy for Donations and all Donations come to the Superintendents’ Office. Also Communicated as part of the Plan, the flexibility with the School Dress Code, some Parents were concerned about not having Uniforms to send their Students to School in and it was Communicated to them that you know basically come as you are and the Principals also had as part of the Plan to immediately assess any Student Uniform Needs, so those could be addressed as quickly as possible. Another part of the Plan was Identifying any of our Current Students who were made Homeless as a result of the Flood, so that they could receive the Homeless Services that we have here at the District Level. Also, part of the Plan was obtaining Counseling Services, Identifying Staff and Students that needed Counseling Services and making sure those Services were provided to them.
Board Member Dawson questioned Dr. Roddy, how many of those Students did you find that were Homeless?
Dr. Roddy related Miss Latrice Smith was handling that, I am not sure.
Board Member Dawson questioned Dr. Roddy, but you did find some?
Dr. Roddy related I don’t have those numbers, does anybody else?
DeShonda Coleman, Supervisor related that she can tell you that as of Friday, we asked the Principals to Survey each Class, so that we cant get information on those Students, those Reports are here. We now have to go through them and get the Proper Forms Submitted, get them Verified and then Update that in the System. So, once we get that Number, we can send that out to you all.
Board Member Dawson related thank you.
Dr. Roddy related the last part of the Plan was Extra-Curricular Activities, like any impact this may have on Sporting Events and Eligibility and so forth. So that is kind of a Summary of the Plan that we had put in place to reopen School. Any questions on that or any other questions on that?
Board Member Dawson questioned well you said we gained twenty-three (23) Students, do you know how many we lost?
DeShonda Coleman, Supervisor related we only a number of one (1).
Thelemese Porter , Principal, Clinton Elementary related I lost one (1).
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent asked what was the question?
Dr. Roddy related how many Students we lost as a result of the Flood.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related now we should have had someone call each Principal today inquiring. Mrs. Glascock, did you get a call?
Kimberly Glascock, Principal, Slaughter Elementary said no, sir.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Ms. Porter?
Thelemese Porter, Principal, Clinton Elementary related I got a call and I lost one (1).
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent and Mrs. Phillips?
Megan Phillips, Principal, Jackson Elementary related they might have talked to the Secretary, I am not sure. I didn’t speak to anybody, but we also lost one (1) Student.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, because we have been trying to collect numbers, good hard numbers on the number of Students that we actually acquired and what we are trying to do, which is sometimes difficult because Students will leave and not necessarily tell you why. We basically told the Principals if you have Kids who Dropped, just try to inquire about why you are Dropping, is it because of the Flood. And so we made some calls to the Schools today and it sounds like two (2) Students, Clinton and Slaughter. I think it is more than two (2), because I have been in communication with the West Feliciana Superintendent and he has identified at least two (2), one (1) High School and one (1) Elementary. So, I think that Elementary Child is from Clinton and then had a Sibling that went to the High School, to West Feliciana High. I have been in communication with Pointe Coupee Parish and he said he wasn’t aware of any coming from us. But we did pick up twenty-three (23) New Kids ranging from St. Landry Parish, Livingston Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, Jefferson Parish, Central Community Schools and even from Arkansas, they were actually here relocated to go to East Baton Rouge and had not enrolled in East Baton Rouge, got flooded in East Baton Rouge and have since moved here. But we have a total of twenty-three (23) New Students that are enrolled in our District due to the Flooding around the State.
Board President Bradford related okay. Go ahead Mr. Harrell.
Vice-President Harrell related he has got a couple of questions. Critique, are we going to do a Critique, because like you said it caught us by surprise. So we need to find out what our Strengths and Weaknesses were and get an Emergency Plan put down in case this ever happens again with some Peoples Names and Roles to where everyone knows what their roles are when it happens. But the biggest thing is Critique everything and to see what our Strengths and Weaknesses were.
Board President Bradford related go ahead Dr. Roddy.
Dr. Roddy asked did you have a question?
Board President Bradford related yes, I have a question for you.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related go ahead.
Board President Bradford stated the Reileyville Area, plays a big part of our School System, an Awesome part of our School System and that back area is pretty bad. He questioned have ya’ll done anything to know where those Kids are, have those Kids been attending School and where are they?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related to our knowledge, the Kids have been attending School.
Thelemese Porter, Principal, Clinton Elementary related they have been attending School.
Board President Bradford questioned they have been attending School?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related I personally met with Community Members in the Reileyville Area, particularly at Clinton Elementary, with the Mayor of Clinton and the Chief of Police, along with the FEMA Representative and it was a great turnout in my opinion. And basically my plea to them was are we going to do all we can as a Parish to make sure that we are able to maintain their sense of livelihood, either in Reileyville or some place else, but my plea was we don’t want you to leave the District...
Board President Bradford related right.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued to work along with the Mayor, myself, the Chief of Police and any other Agency to make sure that we can acquire housing for you in the District. And they were very appreciative of the fact that we were going to work together to make sure that they could at least live in East Feliciana.
Board President Bradford related okay. He questioned Mr. Sam have you heard anything from FEMA or whomever concerning those people going back into the neighborhoods or Mrs. J. Kent do you know, what is up with that?
Board Member J. Kent related yes. They are not allowing them to go back, a lot of those Houses are going to be Condemned...
Board President Bradford related they will be Condemned.
Board Member J. Kent continued so the latest that I heard that FEMA is coming with the Trailers, the Mobile Trailers and down on Plank Road, go down Plank Road and you will see where they are cleaning off and cutting the grass by the Flower Shop.
Board President Bradford questioned hold on Mrs. J. Kent, right here in Town?
Board Member Terrell related beside Buzz-N-Bee.
Board Member J. Kent related yes, sir by Buzz-N-Bee.
Board President Bradford questioned by Buzz-N-Bee?
Board Member P. Kent questioned is that where they are going to put them?
Board Member J. Kent related that is where they are going to put them, so they will have access to the Store, the Post Office and everything. At first I was told they were going to put them on Highway 10, but those People would have to walk, with no Transportation or anything...
Board President Bradford related I live up there Mrs. J. Kent, don’t talk about my hood!
Board Member J. Kent related not your hood, but that is where they said they are going to put them, right there.
Board President Bradford related okay, well very good then, very good. So what you are saying is they have come up with a plan to keep our People here?
Board Member J. Kent related yes.
Board President Bradford related well very good.
Board Member P. Kent questioned is that just for the Residents here, say like Reileyville?
Board Member J. Kent related yes.
Board Member P. Kent questioned I mean and I am not saying not outside the Parish, I am saying here, right here?
Board President Bradford related yes.
Board Member J. Kent related I do not think from outside of the Parish, just the People here.
Board Member P. Kent related yes, that is what I have heard to.
Board President Bradford related very good and Mr. D’Aquilla...
Board Member P. Kent related you are in the know on that, so I am asking you!
Board Member J. Kent related yes.
Board President Bradford asked Mr. D’Aquilla let me ask you this, okay, that is Temporary Housing?
Samuel D’Aquilla, District Attorney related Temporary Housing.
Board President Bradford related that is about 18 Months isn’t it?
Board Member J. Kent related yes.
Board Member Bradford asked do you know anything about addressing the Permanent Housing back up in that area, do they got to meet certain Codes? Do you know anything on that? Would you touch on that?
Board Member J. Kent related yes.
District Attorney D’Aquilla related they are working on that right now, they are kind of assessing the Houses and I think Entergy cut power to I think forty (40) Houses, the water level reached up above the meters and they cut the power to them and they have to get a licensed Electrician to go in and say it is okay to turn the power back on. I think a lot of the residents back there are working on their houses trying to get back in their houses, but it is just going to take awhile for them...
Board President Bradford related to get back in, but the way both of you feel between the Police Jury and all of that, once they meet certain criteria, they will be able to go back into their neighborhoods?
District Attorney D’Aquilla related that is correct.
Board President Bradford related after the 18 Months, the 18 Months will take care of them for now with the Trailer System or Parks will take care of them for now, for the next 18 Months. Am I right? While they are working to get themselves established to go back and everything good about going somewhere else in the community.
District Attorney D’Aquilla related that is right.
Board Member J. Kent related that is right.
Board President Bradford questioned is that right Mrs. J. Kent?
Board Member J. Kent related yes, sir.
Board President Bradford related okay, alright and you are going to make sure that you know where those Kids are, am I right?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we know where they are...
Board President Bradford questioned how else are we going to know where they are at Mr. Sam? Don’t give me that.
Board Member J. Kent related we have got some that are at the site, down Plank Road...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related at the Shelter...
Board President Bradford related oh, we do.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related so we are running a Special Bus to make sure that we pick up those Kids, I shouldn’t say a Special Bus, we are running a Route...
Board President Bradford related oh, you are. Okay, a different Route.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued to make sure that those Kids get picked up and brought to School.
Board President Bradford related okay, very good. Do you got something else on this?
Board Member P. Kent questioned what Shelter?
Dr. Roddy said a couple more...
Board President Bradford related hold on, let’s see what Mrs. J. Kent says.
Board Member J. Kent related the Old Welfare Office.
Board Member P. Kent related oh, okay.
Board President Bradford related go ahead Mr. Roddy.
Dr. Roddy continued the Learning Center, as most of you know I am sure that the Learning Center was integral to Disaster Services, was a Distribution Component which lasted about a week, that is complete or that has ended.
Board President Bradford related right.
Dr. Roddy related then the Division of Child and Family Services set up for DSNAP, Disaster Food Stamps, that lasted a week and they served close to 1,500 Residents of East Feliciana. It was for East Feliciana Residents only.
Board President Bradford related okay.
Dr. Roddy related so that is completed and then FEMA, as best I can tell, they are still there today, they have been there almost two (2) weeks...
Board President Bradford related okay.
Dr. Roddy continued so they are still on-site there and then last week we submitted an application to FEMA for Disaster Relief for some of our, as the Flood impacted us, Mr. Bell is going to cover that.
Board President Bradford related okay, good. Okay, let me say this, Mr. Bell do you got something?
James Bell, Jr., Supervisor related just brief updates on the Middle School, at the Boards pleasure.
Board President Bradford related come on Mr. Bell, come on.
Supervisor Bell related we were fortunate that none of our Main Schools that the Students occupy received heavy damage. It was pretty much relegated to ceiling tile damage and leaks around the air handlers that we are in the process of replacing through the Energy Efficiency Contract. But the Old Middle School received about eighteen (18") inches of water, through the Facility and we were very fortunate of the fact that Facility is 95% cinder block, so there was not a lot of walls and things of that such that we had to take out. The areas that were affected that had sheet rock, were occupied by the Drug Council and Quad Area and they have incorporated D.C.I. to help them to get their Areas squared away. We have received some help from the Parish Prison, we even have a few Inmates that are helping us to get that Facility back on-line, we are scrubbing and cleansing and sanitizing those specific areas and also cataloging all of the damaged items such as we use that location to store desks, filing cabinets and old computer equipment, down at that specific location. So we are inventorying all of that, along with all of the Labor to submit to FEMA Reimbursement. The big ticket items down on that end that we are really concerned about are the package units, which we do utilize, they utilize those units at Slaughter Elementary School and Clinton Elementary School and that is kind of like a repository where we pull parts from or when we just swap out a unit, instead of buying a unit, we would just take a unit from the Middle School and send down on that end. We also have the big unit that we recently placed, recent being a relative term, but in 2009 those two (2) big package units that we put on for the Gym, we are really worried about those and we are trying to get those up and going. And the sewer pumping station at that Facility and that concludes my report, barring any questions.
Board President Bradford questioned okay, any questions?
Board Member Dawson related I have one, at the Complex, I know the leaking has been a problem already and I imagine it has been made it even worse.
Supervisor Bell related at the Complex, yes, ma’am. What we did in some of the Areas like the Middle School, basically we knew it was going to be leaking. We knew we didn’t have anyone, so what we did was we took some 2 x 12's and we took a tarp and basically we built a “pool” so the water would fall in the “pool” and then I had a man to come pump it out every 8 Hours to keep it from going all across the floors and stuff like that. In the Gym, we had trash cans and we got a guy that came through and he emptied that trash can on a 6 Hour basis, to keep from damaging the floors.
Board Member Dawson related I don’t guess FEMA will pay anything for that?
Supervisor Bell related it is going to be their determination, I really don’t want to speculate, I have been working with Dr. Roddy and as he has mentioned he has put in for the application and we are expecting someone out possibly next week to meet to see what is eligible and what is not eligible.
Board Member Dawson related okay.
Supervisor Bell related similar to what we did with Gustav.
Board Member Dawson related right.
Board President Bradford related let me make this comment on the record, I want to thank the Superintendent and his entire Staff, our Employees in a difficult situation ya’ll did a good job. Because we know a lot of ya’ll had damages and was displaced and problems yourselves and I think ya’ll came through the best you can and we thank ya’ll so much. Our Teachers, I got a call from Teachers that had damages you know and it was a terrible situation and ya’ll did the best ya’ll could in such a bad situation and we thank you. Thanks to everybody so much. Thank you Mr. Sam, I know you lost a lot of stuff, thank you so much.
Board Member Spears related Mr. Bradford, I have and it is related to Flood, but I think it is a misfortune for other Parishes but it could be a good fortune for us. I think Mr. Sam is on the Chamber, if I am not mistaken...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, sir.
Board Member Spears continued so I was thinking that maybe, that there are some things that I know because a lot of guys that work with me say don’t want to go back to the Parish that they Flooded in and since we have the lowest Tax, Property Tax in the State, that maybe we could get a cross section of group of people with like the Chamber, School Board, Police Jury and Sheriff’s Office, the Judges and District Attorney to brainstorm on a Promotion for our Parish and that could actually burst us into a growth. Because Livingston Parish, it is a lot of people there actually don’t want to go back because of the way the process for the New Flood Zones and we are in a prime position to take advantage of it if we could move forward on it. I am not saying that it could happen overnight, but it would be something that we might look into.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, sir.
Board President Bradford related very good. Okay, what do you got, go ahead Mr. Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related we had and I don’t know if Dr. Roddy mentioned it, because we had 35, approximately 35 Teachers that were impacted and we have been trying to handle them with “kit gloves”, we have given them time off, I say given them time off, they have taken time off and we haven’t really you know pressed them. And we have been in constant contact with them on a daily basis, in fact last Thursday or Friday, I even offered one of the Teachers my vehicle because she said she was going to take off for the Semester and I just simply said look we need you here and I need to get you a car. And so those are the kinds of things, I guess you could say, personal issues that some of our Teachers are having to deal with along with being responsible for Kids in the Classrooms. The initial or what we did initially, was we made sure that we had enough coverage at every School, before we decided what day we were open Schools. Because the worst thing that you can do is open Schools without have enough Adult Supervision and something happens. Okay, so we provided the Schools with additional Substitutes and then on a Daily basis we kind of monitored the Attendance of each School. The Principals are checking with Teachers to find out you know, what day do you think you are going to return. And I sat down with FEMA Officials and said hey, these are the 35 Individuals in our District that have been impacted and we need you to prioritize their needs and the very next day, FEMA was contacting our Employees and trying to make sure they had the services and resources they need to get them back to work as soon as possible. So, I need to commend my Staff as well and just commend the Principals, for being so sensitive to our Employees.
Board Member Dawson related well I think you need to be commended, gosh you have had trouble yourself and you are loaning somebody your car, my goodness.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related well.
Board President Bradford asked can I borrow it next weekend! Okay, what else ya’ll got? Thank ya’ll Mr. Bell and Mr. Roddy, thank ya’ll so much. Mr. Roddy was at the FEMA, when was that I say you Mr. Roddy, the FEMA Update?
Dr. Roddy related oh, right. The FEMA Meeting last week to tell us how to apply for the Funds.
Board President Bradford related yes, and he was representing us well.
Vice-President Harrell related he would like to see a copy of the Critique or see the results of the Critique.
Board President Bradford asked are you going to take care of that Mr. Roddy?
Dr. Roddy related yes, sir.
Vice-President Harrell related ya’ll did a great and I want to commend everybody to myself. He noted a lot of Schools were in complete disarrayed and our School System did stand out. So, I do appreciate that.
Board President Bradford related they did good. Okay, come on Mr. Sam, what do you got?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related okay, just or we gave you a copy the Homeless Education Program Brochure, that is for your personal files. We just wanted to brag on how nice the Brochure looks and commend Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Lane for a job well done on the Homeless Education Program Brochure. It really represents the District well. Not beleaguering the point, but I want to personally apologize if you did not get attached to that e-mail the information about the Evaluation for Teachers. This document should have been attached to it, that was my intent. Quite frankly as Mrs. Dawson said, I have been a little distracted and if I didn’t attach it then, the intent was for it to be attached. So this is the data...
Board President Bradford related that is what I just passed out Mr. Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued that we just passed out to you that basically supports I guess the stipend. But I would support Mr. P. Kent and Mr. Board President Bradford and all of the Board Members if you think that, you know procedurally, you want to do something to make sure that we are transparent in nature in terms of making sure that you know...
Board President Bradford related well Mr. D’Aquilla is going to check into it and at the next Board Meeting he is going to line it up for us. What else you got Mr. Sam?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related yes, sir. I think we have some information about QZAB Money...
Board President Bradford related oh, yes.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued as you all know, we are trying to apply for some QZAB Dollars.
Scott Lazarone, C.P.A. with Faulk & Winkler, LLC related so I will keep it brief. But you sort of have a recap in the front of your packets, it is just sort of an update on where we stand right now. So it is sort of a several step process, the first step is being approved by the Department of Education, which they got the Approval within a week of applying for it. So that part of it is done, you also remember they talked about a 10% Private Match that was required, that you are required to get in order to get the Funds, that was done by the Attorneys working on it from a Group called “Pulling for Kids” which basically, it is basically an in-kind contribution back to the District and it is sort of an on-line continuing education program for Teachers. So that is sort of where the Private Match is coming, so it is basically a Match that is required to come from an Outside Source, that is not already a party in the Contract. So it is not necessarily you having to put up the money, it is finding additional money, the Attorneys have told us that is the most difficult part to get on these things and that has been done. So sort of the next two (2) steps is one finding a Buyer, a Bank for the Bonds and then getting approval by the State Bond Commission. So this approval is on the Agenda for the State Bond Commission Meeting on September 15th, they requested information from us and we actually submitted the last piece of that to them today, so all of that information is currently with the Attorneys and they will be forwarding that along to the State Bond Commission for Approval at their September 15th Board Meeting. And in the meantime, it is sort of you can see in regards to banking, two (2) Banks have decided to pass, one of did cite the recent Floods, they are sort of the current risks they have in Louisiana and not knowing where they stand with all of that. But there are two (2) Banks they are still in talks with that they are trying to get approvals from, so basically over the next couple of weeks before that 15th Meeting, hopefully you have something in place with one of them, with definite Terms that can be brought before the Bond Commission at that meeting. Because basically you have what our hopeful Terms that are going before the Bond Commission, if the Banks come back with less favorable Terms, it would have to go back in front of the Bond Commission at their October Meeting in order to approve that. If the Terms are less favorable than what the Attorneys are thinking you can get. As long as they are the same as what you originally put on the Bond Commission Application or better, you usually don’t have to go back to them. So that is sort of where that stands.
Board Member Paul Kent and Samuel D’Aquilla, District Attorney left the meeting at this time.
Board President Bradford related right, you are on top of it right?
C.P.A. Lazarone related yes.
Vice-President Harrell questioned do you need any action?
C.P.A. Lazarone related it is just for information.
Vice-President Harrell related okay.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related he just wanted to make sure that you understood where we were in the process...
Vice-President Harrell related okay.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued it slower than what we anticipated, I would prefer us having the money and making all the improvements, but it doesn’t work like that.
Board President Bradford questioned as far as those Contracts, are we all signed up or signed and ready to go?
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related we have signed all of the Contracts and so everything is now pending on the Financing.
Board President Bradford related okay.
Vice-President Harrell related okay.
Board President Bradford for any questions? Alright Mr. Sam go ahead.
Item 6.B.(2) Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related to Board Members present that Item 2. under 6.B., we want to receive a request for Board authorization for myself, to use my discretion on behalf of the East Feliciana Parish School Board; in receipt and distribution of various monetary and/or material donations to support August, 2016 Flood Victims...
Motion by Vice-President Harrell, seconded by Mrs. Dawson in connection with Item 6.B.(2) (a) through (g) as set out on the above agenda, to authorize Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent, to use his discretion on behalf of the East Feliciana Parish School Board; in receipt and distribution of various monetary and/or material donations to support August, 2016 Flood Victims.
Board President Bradford then asked for any public questions or comments before a vote is taken on this motion. Receiving none, Board President Bradford then proceeded with the vote. All yeas. The motion carried. Absent during vote: P. Kent. Absent and not voting: Hollins.
Item 6.B.(3) Board President Bradford turned the floor over to Superintendent Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent on Personnel Matters we will have Mrs. Netterville give us just a briefing on our Staff Updates. He noted you should have a memo to me from Mrs. Netterville updating you on the August Staffing.
Keisha Netterville, Executive Director reviewed with Board Member present her handout entitled “Staffing Updates as of September 6, 2016". What you have before you is the current Staffing Updates as of today, September 6, 2016, which actually reflects the Month of August through today. We currently have the number of vacancies listed below, there were a total of five (5) resignations, no retirements and if you read carefully under Interim/Uncertified Employees we decreased that number at the bottom from last from last school year.
Vice-President Harrell questioned what was the five (5) resignations for?
Exec. Director Netterville related Teaching Positions.
Vice-President Harrell questioned they didn’t give any reason why?
Exec. Director Netterville questioned you mean their personal reasons? Yes, they did, they did, yes, sir.
Board Member Dawson questioned and where are the two Vacancies?
Exec. Director Netterville related Middle and High School.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related one (1) Middle School Teacher and one (1) High School Teacher.
Vice-President Harrell related okay.
Exec. Director Netterville related thank you.
Vice-President Harrell related thank you.
Board President Bradford called for any more questions.
Item 6.B.(4) Board President Bradford turned the floor over to Superintendent Sam.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related we have one last report Mr. Board President under Operations and Maintenance and we are going ask Mr. Bell to give us that report.
James Bell, Jr., Supervisor related to Board Members present and noted we have already talked about the condition of East Feliciana, I am sorry Clinton Middle School, the other fly in the ointment is the Chiller at East Feliciana Middle School. It is currently down and inoperable, we currently have a 200 Ton Rental in place. Myself and some other Professionals believe that the Chiller was actually damaged by a lightening strike, some of the logic boards and some of the censors in there are not functioning as they should. We are current working with Dart Insurance to possibly file a Claim with our Insurance to see if we can get a new Chiller to replace that other Chiller that we have at that specific Facility.
Board Member Paul Kent rejoined the meeting at this time.
Supervisor Bell related we also made repairs to Slaughter Elementary School Cafeteria Roof, that was completed before School started, we were able to get the leaks and all of those items that were concerns of DHH taken care of, so we have a total new Roof on Slaughter Elementary School Cafeteria. In the process of repairing the Roof, we found that some of the Tiles on the Floor were damaged by water and those Tiles were made of Asbestos. So we were able to work with ASBI, they came in and removed them, without doing Mitigation and based upon their advice, they advised us to Encapsulate those specific Tiles, so that we didn’t have to Mitigate all the Tile within that specific Facility so that we would be ready for School.
Board Member P. Kent questioned they were Asbestos?
Supervisor Bell related yes, sir.
Board Member P. Kent questioned the Tiles are?
Supervisor Bell related yes, sir.
Board Member Corcoran questioned are all of the Tile Asbestos at Slaughter?
Supervisor Bell related we know that the Tile, specifically in...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related in the Cafeteria.
Supervisor Bell continued in the Cafeteria, those are the Tiles that we specifically had tested.
Vice-President Harrell questioned were they 9 inch Tiles?
Supervisor Bell related 9 to 8 inches, yes, sir.
Vice-President Harrell related that all 9 inch Tiles are Classified as Asbestos.
Board President Bradford questioned on another Issue Mr. Bell, we have a Home Football Game Friday don’t we?
Supervisor Bell related yes, sir.
Board President Bradford questioned have you gone through and checked the Facility out and made sure that everything is safe and what needs to be done and all this good stuff?
Supervisor Bell related we are actually in the process of doing that right now. I know one thing that is specifically not safe is the Press Box, the joist on those Press Box when they erected it, that little parapet or that little mount where you can put Cameramen and Football Coaches and all those other Individuals up there, the little Booth that actually rides on top of the joist is dilapidated and is allowing it to lean down, so the soffit is bad and so is the joist is bad and it is going to be my recommendation that we don’t allow no more than one or two people up there, otherwise that Roof of that Facility may actually collapse.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related let me just say this Mr. President and Members of the Board that I have basically asked Mr. Bell and we may want to consider not allowing anyone up there...
Board Member P. Kent related I agree with you.
Vice-President Harrell related I agree with you.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued and what we are going to potentially do is rent, at least for this Friday, until we come up with a different plan, one of those automatic scaffolds...
Vice-President Harrell related scissor-lift.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related right, there you go and that would allow Individuals who want to be up in the air with a certain cite on the field to stand on that particular lift.
Vice-President Harrell related United Rental will rent you all you want.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent noted United Rental, United Rental. So instead of taking a chance of having one Person up there to fall through, I just don’t want that on my consciousness...
Vice-President Harrell related I agree.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent continued I would rather be safe than sorry.
Board President Bradford questioned Volunteers in the Community built that didn’t they?
Supervisor Bell related yes, sir.
Board President Bradford questioned how many years ago, Mr. P. Kent were you here?
Board Member P. Kent related yes, they were building it when I was here.
Board President Bradford related oh, they were. Okay.
Supervisor Bell related around 2000.
Board Member P. Kent related that has been 11 Years ago.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related so the other thing we are going to do is, Mr. Bell is going to begin to research the Costs for the Building of a New Press Box or the Repairing of that one. We will send to you some numbers and ideas.
Board President Bradford related okay.
Board Member Spears questioned aren’t all Press Boxes required to be Metal, instead of Wood now, if I am not mistaken.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related you know you make a good point, me and Mr. Bell talked about it today, I told him now I see more Metal Press Boxes than I do Wood. So that could be potentially another way of or using different Material, instead of wood. I don’t think a Press Box would come cheap, if we wanted to build it right, to house the appropriate number of Individuals. I mean our Coaching Staff alone range from 8 to 10, so that on any given night, you have you know 3 or 4 Coaches up there along with Statisticians and Officials, that is just on our side and then you have their Coaches, so you could have 12 plus People in the Press Box or more. You have the Cameraman, it is just something that we have to basically begin to research and design if we are going to make sure that the Press Box is safe.
Board President Bradford questioned make sure that our Boys have what they need, we want to try to win a few Games this Year!
Supervisor Bell related yes, sir.
Board Member Rhonda Matthews related Mr. Bradford.
Board President Bradford related go ahead and ask it.
Board Member Matthews questioned when are we going to start having the Football Games at East Feliciana High School Campus...
Board President Bradford related that is not on the Agenda now...
Vice-President Harrell related I’ll second that motion!
Board Member Dawson related I’ll third it!
Board President Bradford related it is not on the Agenda, you are going to make me fall out in my chair...
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Mr. President do you want me to address that?
Board President Bradford related no, don’t do that, leave that alone.
Vice-President Harrell related Rhonda you did a good jab!
Board President Bradford related next item, next item.
Board Member E. Brooks, Jr. related good Question.
Board President Bradford related we’ll be here all the rest of the night on this! Go ahead Mr. Sam.
Board Member Matthews related that is it.
Board President Bradford related yeah, you did mention that. Okay.
Carlos J. Sam, Superintendent related Mr. President that ends my report.
Item 7. Board President Bradford noted there is no Old Business at this time.
Item 8.A. Board President Bradford proceeded with the New Business.
Motion by Vice-President Harrell, seconded by Mrs. J. Kent to adopt an Ordinance (a copy of which is attached hereto for reference) providing for the levy within (I) the Parish of East Feliciana, State of Louisiana, for school purposes, effective January 1, 2017, of a one percent (1%) sales and use tax and (ii) School District No. 1 of the Parish of East Feliciana, State of Louisiana, effective July 1, 2017, of a one percent (1%) sales and use tax, such tax having been authorized at a special election held in said Parish and District on October 24, 2015.
Board President Bradford called for any questions or comments. Receiving none, Board President Bradford proceeded with the vote, as follows:
Yeas: E. Brooks, Jr., Matthews, Terrell, Thompson, J. Kent, Bradford, Harrell, P. Kent, Hollins, Dawson and Spears
Opposed: None
Absent during vote: None
Absent and not voting: Corcoran
Board President Bradford announced by majority vote of 11 to 0, with 1 absent and not voting, the motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion for adjournment by Vice-President Harrell, seconded by Mrs. J. Kent, prevailed until the next regular meeting unless called into special session by the President.
CARLOS J. SAM, SUPERINTENDENT MICHAEL RAY BRADFORD,
SECRETARY-TREASURER BOARD PRESIDENT