PROCEEDINGS OF THE ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
RESERVE, LA - Meeting of January 13, 2011
The Chair called the meeting to order and read the following call:
HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD
Parish of St. John the Baptist
Dear Board Member:
Upon call of the President, the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board will meet in regular session at West St. John high School, 480 Highway 3127, Edgard, Louisiana, on Thursday, January 13, 2011, at 6:00 p.m.
An agenda for the meeting is attached.
Sincerely, s/Courtney P. Millet, Ph.D.
Superintendent/Secretary
The Chair called for a moment of silent meditation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
ADDENDUM ITEM 1a. Swearing in of School Board Members
Judge Jude G. Gravois and Judge Madeline Jasmine were on hand to administer the Oath of Office to all board members. Dr. Keller requested that Rodney Nicholas be sworn in first and separately, due to the fact that it is his first term as a board member.
Rodney Nicholas was administered the Oath of Office.
Judge Jude G. Gravois and Judge Madeline Jasmine then administered the Oath of Office to the remaining board members.
The Chair declared a recess at 6:05 p.m.
A motion was made by Mr. Bacas, seconded by Mr.Sanders, to reconvene in regular session. There were no objections and the meeting reconvened in regular session at 6:14 p.m.
ADDENDUM ITEM 2a. Election of Officers
Mr. Wise nominated Dr. Keller for President. Dr. Keller accepted the nomination, but added that there is another member of the board who has expressed an interest in becoming President and if that person is still interested, he (Dr. Keller) would rescind his acceptance of the nomination.
Mr. Jones nominated Mr. Sanders for President. Mr. Sanders accepted the nomination. This nomination was seconded by Mr. Jack. There were no objections, and the Board named Mr. Sanders the new President of the Board.
Mr. Sanders thanked the board for the opportunity to serve as President and opened the floor for nominations for Vice President. Dr. Keller nominated Mr. Triche. Mr. Triche accepted the nomination. Mr. Nicholas seconded this nomination. There were no objections, and the Board named Mr. Triche the new Vice President of the Board.
ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS:
PRESENT: Messrs. Jack, Burl, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Jones, Johnson, Wise, Bacas, Nicholas, Triche, Keller.
ABSENT: None.
There were 11 members present, 0 absent.
ITEM 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Meeting of December 21, 2010. A motion was made by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr. Jack, to accept the minutes of December 21, 2010 as printed and published. There were no objections and the motion to approve the minutes passed unanimously (11 Yeas, 0 Nays).
ITEM 4. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT. Courtney P. Millet, Ph.D., Superintendent. None.
ITEM 5. EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS BY THE BOARD OR STAFF. a. ”Making the Grade” Program recipient, Ms. Nelann Taylor, West St. John High School Spanish Teacher
Dr. Millet read the following: ”Making the Grade” is a program that highlights successful education projects and curricula in elementary and high schools in Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany and St. John the Baptist parishes, parishes where OMNI Banks are located.
The 2010-2011 school year is the fourth consecutive school year in which OMNI BANK and Brees are sponsors. Begun in the late 1980s, the program has earned national recognition for encouraging parental involvement, motivating businesses to become involved in education, and inspiring teacher and student imagination.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees partnered with OMNI to raise awareness of the program. Each recipient’s school received a $2000 award from the Brees Dream Foundation: $1000 for the school and $1000 for the winning teacher.
I want to congratulate Ms. Nelann Taylor, Spanish Teacher at West St. John High School, as one of this year’s recipients. Her ”Making the Grade” project was described on the Superintendents’ voting form in these two sentences: ”At this school, students are learning Spanish by writing, illustrating, and publishing their own children’s books. The inventive authors then bring their book to grade schools to read them to young children.”
We are extremely proud of Ms. Taylor. As part of her award, Mrs. Taylor and her students were featured in a ”Making the Grade” commercial which aired on WWL TV. We’d now like to share with you the commercial featuring Ms. Taylor and her students.
Mrs. Merrick, principal of West St. John High School congratulated Ms. Taylor and presented her with a football that was autographed by Mr. Drew Brees.
ITEM 6. PERSONNEL MATTERS: Dr. Leigh Ann Beard, Director of Human Resources.
Personnel Changes (Requires action by the Board)
A. New Hire
1. Dominique Sexton, Math Teacher - East St. John High School, January 18, 2011
B. Extended Sick Leave
1. Linda Boudoin, Speech Therapist - West St. John Elementary, November 29, 2010 – Jan. 4, 2011
2. Kelly Graham Butler, Teacher - Lake Pontchartrain Elementary, December 2, 2010 - May 19, 2011
3. Libby Ducre, Teacher - LaPlace Elementary, December 8 - 9, 2010
4. Julie Jackson, Teacher - East St. John High, January 4 - February 15, 2011
5. Celeste Poche, Nurse - Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet, January 4 - February 28, 2011
6. Michelle Mondello, Teacher - John L. Ory Magnet, January 4 - March 10, 2011
7. Jeffrey Russell, Teacher - East St. John High, January 4 - May 19, 2011
8. Kelly Allen, Speech Therapist - East St. John Elementary, January 18 - March 9, 2011
C. Sabbatical
1.Precious Joseph, Director - Adult Education, January 14 - May 19, 2011
D. Retirement
1. Darlene Reynaud, Teacher - West St. John Elementary, January 7, 2011
E. Leave Without Pay
1. Celeste Poche, Nurse - Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet, March 1 - March 28, 2011
F. Resignation
1. Diana Steller, Teacher - Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet, January 4, 2011
II. CLASSIFIED
A. Extended Sick Leave
1. Jacqueline Cherry, 10 month secretary - Emily C. Watkins, Sept. 24, 2010 - February 17, 2011
2. Rainere Burl, Lunch Technician - Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet, November 8 - November 22, 2010
3. Glenda Webre, Bus Driver – Transportation, November 29, 2010 - January 21, 2011
4. Kevin Joseph, Custodian - West St. John Elementary, January 27 - June 10, 2011
5. Chanda Waguespack, 12 month secretary - Emily C. Watkins, Dec. 17, 2010 - February 4, 2011
B. Leave Without Pay
1. Sharon Early, Custodian - Fifth Ward Elementary, January 11 - February 15, 2011
C. Retirement
1. Emma LeRoux, Paraprofessional - Child Development Center, May 19, 2011
A motion was made by Mr. Wise, seconded by Mr. Bacas, to approve the Personnel Changes as presented. There were no objections and the motion passed unanimously (11 Yeas, 0 Nays).
ITEM 7a. BUSINESS AND FINANCE: Mr. Felix Boughton, Executive Director of Business and Finance
a. Introduce revised school rental policy. This item was for introduction purposes only.
b. Authorize administration to accept proposals on property insurance.
Mr. Boughton explained that the current policy will expire in March of 2011 and he is requesting authorization to accept proposals on property insurance. A motion was made by Mr. Triche, seconded by Mr. Wise, to authorize administration to accept proposals on property insurance. There were no objections and the motion passed unanimously (11 Yeas, 0 Nays).
c. Accept audit report from Rebowe and Company.
Mr. Phillip Rebowe addressed the board on this item. He stated that all audited reports were clean and without exception. Mr. Rebowe stated that St. John School Board had received the highest recognition of Excellence in Finance for the past 11 years and is to be commended for this.
A motion was made by Dr. Keller, seconded by Mr. Triche, to accept the audit report from Rebowe and Company as presented. There were no objections and the motion passed unanimously (11 Yeas, 0 Nays).
d. Quarterly Budget Report 2010-2011.
Mr. Sanders requested that a hard copy of this report, which was sent electronically, be sent to each of the Finance Committee members before the next Committee meeting.
Mr. Boughton stated that a new payroll system is being implemented that eliminates the use of Social Security numbers. Each employee was assigned an Identification Number. The new system is being implemented to reduce the risk of Identification Theft.
ITEM 8. OLD BUSINESS. a. None.
ITEM 9. NEW BUSINESS. a. Mr. Lloyd LeBlanc – None.
ITEM 10. ADMINSTRATIVE MATTERS: a. Committee Reports. None.
ITEM 11. BOARD-RELATED ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Mr. Wise stated that a proposed agenda for the Board Retreat was provided to each board member at their places. He asked that each board member review this agenda and any questions, comments, additions, or changes be addressed to him by the end of the week. Mr. Wise noted that there was an open time slot that could possibly be filled with an on-line Ethics training.
Dr. Millet stated that the Advisory Committee had requested a tour of the schools that are included in the $46 million bond issue. She stated that this ”site visit” is set for January 19, 2011 and that architects would be on site to answer any questions. A copy of the agenda for the day was provided to all board members.
Mr. Nicholas addressed the board in regards to setting up a committee for the athletic director/head coach position at East St. John High School. Mr. Wise suggested that the board discuss this item at the Board Retreat as opposed to discussing it at the current meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Burl, seconded by Mr. Nicholas, to waive policy to discuss the athletic director/head coach position at East St. John High School. Upon roll call, there were 6 Yeas (Jack, Burl, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Jones, Nicholas) and 5 Nays (Johnson, Wise, Bacas, Triche, Keller) and the motion to waive policy failed. A unanimous vote is necessary to waive policy. Mr. Jack suggested that administration follow the same guidelines that were used when the same positions was available at West St. John High School. Mr. Sanders asked the Superintendent if the Executive Committee could meet early next week to discuss this issue. Dr. Millet stated that she would be available to meet with the Executive Committee next week.
Mr. Jack stated that the annual Martin Luther King Parade, sponsored by the West St. John Civic Association would begin at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 17th and all are invited.
ITEM 12. ADJOURNMENT: The agenda having been completed, and there being no further business, Mr. Triche offered a motion for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Nicholas. There were no objections. The meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m.
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Patrick H. Sanders., President
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Courtney P. Millet, Ph.D., Secretary